Thursday, September 18th, 2014

Hello everyone, and welcome back to our blog this week! We hope that you have all successfully settled back into your fall routine, and have had some time to enjoy the cooler temperatures and the changing of the seasons.

Here at M&L, we have used the last few days to reflect on the busy summer months that have just passed us by. Between Center for Independent Futures (CIF) training sessions, workshops, and working on establishing our housing non-profit (Integrated Living Opportunities – ILO), we have been non-stop! The benefit of all this work, however, is that our housing development project is well on its way – and we are so incredibly proud to be a part of the process. Note: to learn more about this housing project, click here to access all blogs on the topic, or here to contact M&L.

In light of the incredible progress we have made with the housing non-profit and development project, we have decided to switch our focus onto another aspect of M&L Special Needs Planning that we are very proud of – the financial services that we provide to families with special needs. So, if you are new to M&L, or perhaps you have only dealt with us in regards to housing services, please stay tuned! Today we are going to walk you through the different financial services that we provide, and why these services are incredibly valuable and useful to families who wish to secure financial stability for their family with special needs – both now, and in the future.

Need Government Benefits? M&L Can Help!
Note: M&L has a 100% success rate with helping families apply for government benefits for 2013/14.

The staff of M&L understands how incredibly important government benefits can be to the financial future of your child with special needs. As parents, one of the most important things that we can do is advocate to ensure that our child receives the services and supports required to reach his or her fullest potential. Securing government benefits for your child is an important part of this process, and these benefits can play an integral part of the financing structure for future housing and independent living goals.

The process of applying for these benefits can be tricky and stressful – it is a complicated process, and many applications are denied due to lack of documentation. YOU DO NOT WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE DENIED BENEFITS – it is a hassle and can take years to fix! At M&L, we can help with this process! Our government benefit counseling is intended to help you recognize and understand which public resources are available to your family and your child with special needs. More importantly, it helps you to access these funds by guiding you through the application process for these public resources. Our staff are experts, and we can work with you to ensure that your application is not denied due to lack of information or documentation – as mentioned earlier, M&L has 100% success rate in applying for government benefits for 2013/14.

To learn more about the benefit counseling services that M&L provides, please click here or download the brochure. If you would like any additional information or to read more about government benefits, you can visit our blog posts, Understanding Supplemental Security Income (SSI) & Medicaid and Understanding Social Security Disability Insurance & Medicare.

M&L Special Needs Planning – Our Comprehensive Special Needs Financial Life Plan

Are you looking for someone to guide you through your special needs financial and life planning from start to finish? If so, we can help! Our Comprehensive Special Needs Financial Life Plan can help you achieve a complete, lifetime financial plan – and more! This process is designed to help your family with special needs identify and prioritize financial life goals for two generations – through helping you prepare this plan we account for both the typical family needs and the needs for the entire life of the individual with a disability.

Not only is this life plan about finances, i.e. knowing what you have and filling in the financial gaps that may exist, but we also go into great detail and build an understanding of your family’s personal story. This helps us help you to create your own specific action steps. We find it imperative to take care of the caretaker as well as to provide for your family member with special needs. We ensure personal and public resources are maximized and protected. As a part of this plan, we review family resources, legal documents, insurance, retirement goals, tax and estate issues, and other legal matters. There is also a strong focus on investments and cash flow, as well as tax and risk management/insurance strategies.

From the information we gather throughout the above process, we develop recommendations and steps you can take to ensure that you and your family can meet the entire family’s financial life goals. There is a strong concentration to financially support your family member with disabilities now and after the parents are gone. This plan is reviewed and updated annually to incorporate any changes with family dynamics, state/federal benefits, and to identify any additional resources necessary to continue to uphold the quality of life necessary for an individual with special needs. This service also includes the M&L Special Needs Planning, LLC Letter of Intent C.D.

To learn more about this service, please click here to access all of our blogs on the subject. Does this sound like something you would be interested in?  Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have, or to set up an appointment!

Consulting

Many of our families wish to partake in financial and/or life planning for the future of their family member with disabilities. However, they may not necessarily want or need the full service that comes with the Comprehensive Special Needs Financial Life Plan. To families in this situation, we offer up our expertise as consultants – we can provide guidance and advice in all areas of special needs planning, from the very basic to the incredibly complex.

For example, M&L staff will consult with families when it comes to reviewing existing documents, guardianship issues, and tax and estate planning (just to name a few). We can help you with transitioning planning by providing direction and guidance as to the best post secondary programs in the country; as well, we are experts in the housing field and can connect you to independent living and housing through our own revolutionary housing programs or by sharing with you our knowledge of other independent living programs from across the country.

Whatever your questions, or whatever step you are on in your special needs journey don’t worry – we can help! As parents of children with disabilities, and professionals with years of experience in the special needs world we have encountered virtually every issue that can arise from either a personal or professional perspective – and sometimes both! We feel that it is this unique perspective that makes M&L your number one choice in financial and life planning for your family with special needs.

To learn more about our consulting services, please click here.

What do our clients think?

Over the years we have provided government benefit counseling, and consulting to many, many families with special needs. We have also helped families secure their financial future by helping them create their Comprehensive Special Needs Financial Life Plan. Here are some of the things are clients have said about our services:

Honestly we would never have been able to navigate the process without Maedi.  I do not know how normal people get through this on their own.  She was clear, concise, and direct.  We worked with her over the phone to be sure that the package was properly assembled and submitted and then helped us with the follow up.  We were under a deadline because our son was moving into a group situation and we had to have services in place quickly.  Maedi made it happen.  I would definitely use her again and will likely consult with her for life!”
– Amy Tierce

“When my daughter became ill it was clear she should qualify for disability, but not at all clear to me how I might be able to help her do it.  I received excellent guidance from M & L, and my daughter received SSDI on her first application.”
-Anonymous

“I met Maedi when I went to an Understanding Government Benefits workshop she was holding at the Treatment and Learning Center.  I decided then that I would work with her when it came time for me to apply for SSI, DDA and RSA for my daughter.  She was instrumental in helping me obtain benefits quicker than ever.  The gentleman at the Social Security Administration was beyond impressed at how organized I was and how I had all the needed documentation.  Three weeks later my daughter received her first disability check.”
– Patrizia, Washington, D.C.

Would You Like More Information?

Thanks so much for dropping by our blog today! If you aren’t currently or have never been a client of M&L special needs Planning and would like more information on how exactly we help families with special needs, give us a call! We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have regarding any aspect of special needs planning, or to provide a brief description of any of the services we provide.

In addition, please check out our Services and Workshops webpages for more information about how we can help you and your family.

Hopefully you found this blog post informative and helpful – drop by again next week!