The 2025 National Conference of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP) held in San Diego, California, earlier this spring featured a compelling presession on collaborative special needs planning.
Presented by Jerry Hulick of MassMutual SpecialCare, Fred Misilo of Fletcher Tilton, and Jeff Vistica of Vistica Wealth Advisors, the discussion emphasized the crucial integration of financial and legal expertise to provide comprehensive support for families with special needs individuals. The presenters shared insights on building effective professional relationships, addressing client needs holistically, and navigating the complexities of special needs planning in partnership.
Building Bridges Between Professionals
One of the central themes of the talk was the importance of building strong relationships between financial advisors and attorneys.
“How do you find people that you trust, that you know will do a good job?” asked Misilo. Among the obstacles that come with crossing the boundary between wealth advising and the legal system, he said, are preconceived notions.
From interviews he held with professionals on both sides of the aisle, Misilo came to find that financial advisors may feel that attorneys don’t disclose enough information or can seem controlling, while attorneys might view financial advisors as driven by commissions rather than the needs of the client.
To bridge this gap, Misilo stressed the importance of being self-aware of these stereotypes and working to establish "a common vision of what’s in our mutual interest, the mutual interest and the best interest of the client. In the special needs world, that means going beyond what we traditionally do with estate planning and wealth management."
Hulick emphasized the need to vet professionals thoroughly. “I always ask [attorneys] about the practice – what they’re doing, how they do it, and their preference as to the way they structure things,” he explained. This question-and-answer process, he said, helps to identify who is actively engaged in special needs planning versus those who are not.
Hulick also highlighted the importance of understanding each other’s styles and approaches. “The more we talk about each other's practice, the more we’re going to understand how we do things in the process and what we each know.”
Vistica added that it is crucial to question and understand the rationale behind recommendations that come from a potential colleague. “If the attorney says, ‘Sure, we do special needs trusts, but we’ll do it with a testamentary provision’ and that is their default, we’ll often question that … to dig into why they are making that recommendation,” he told attendees. This approach can help ensure that the solutions everyone has in mind are tailored to the client's specific needs and goals.
Person-Centered Planning and Continuity of Care
The presenters underscored the significance of person-centered planning, which focuses on the individual’s unique needs and aspirations.
“As attorneys or financial advisors, we’re servants to our clients, to meet their needs not only for the client’s estate planning, tax planning, asset protection ... but also it really all ends up in the special needs arena, more likely than not, in the funding of a supplemental needs trust that will be operating during the lifetime of a family member with differing abilities,” Misilo said.
He emphasized that the client’s plans should be updated regularly, ideally annually or at least every three to five years, due to changing needs and circumstances.
Hulick added that sharing information between professionals is essential. “It just helps some of the specialization that may go into documents,” he said. By integrating all available resources, professionals can develop plans that are tailored to the specific individuals involved. “That’s when we get the best plan,” he added.
Vistica highlighted the importance of establishing a “continuum of care.” For example, naming an initial trustee of a special needs trust is one thing, but everyone involved needs to consider what happens if things change in the years to come.
“What can we do to set up that initial plan and then the plan B or the plan C?” he asked.
This forward-thinking approach helps ensure that the clients’ needs are met throughout their lifetime.
Practical Considerations and Strategies
The session also delved into practical aspects of special needs planning, such as the types of special needs trusts, the role of trustees, and the integration of ABLE accounts. Misilo discussed first-party, third-party, and pooled income trusts, explaining the nuances of each and their appropriate uses. He also stressed the importance of adequately funding the special needs trust to ensure high-quality care and advocacy for the beneficiary.
“I’ve begun to look at the proper funding of the special needs trust as a form of advocacy, as a form of oversight, not just supplementing services, but the nice things, like going to the ballgame or on vacation, and actually being able to hire care managers, the eyes and ears on the ground,” he said.
Regarding trustees, Vistica emphasized the need for honesty, dependability, knowledge, and capability.
“Being a trustee is not for the faint at heart. Trust accountings and filing 1040s, doing a whole slew of things to manage distributions and all. It’s a very complicated thing,” he said. He also suggested that family members might be better suited as trust protectors or members of a trust advisory committee rather than as trustees.
Hulick advocated for the integration of ABLE accounts into a client’s overall plan.
“ABLE accounts are critically important, and I’m a total supporter of making sure we utilize that as a part of the overall planning,” he said. He explained that ABLE accounts offer flexibility and can be used for qualified expenses, making them a valuable tool in conjunction with special needs trusts.
Communication and Collaboration
Throughout the session, the presenters emphasized the importance of collaboration. Vistica stressed the vital need for ongoing communication, including holding trust advisory committee meetings as well as family meetings.
Explaining that he is a parent of a child with disabilities, Vistica shared with attendees that planning for a child’s future is an “overwhelmingly emotional subject to digest and plan for, so you really have to take the time to spend with the families and get things in place to whatever extent possible.”
Hulick echoed this sentiment, noting that “continued communication is going to be critically important, even if it’s in the form of an update with an email or whatever it may be back to the other professionals.” He also highlighted the importance of having the client’s written permission from the start to have professionals be able to speak back and forth between themselves to share information effectively.
“The last thing we want to ask families to do is fill out a lot of the same information twice,” he said.
Misilo concluded by saying, “Collaboration does two things: It’s more fun than working alone. And, you get better. You’re not going to slack off because you are working, you are learning, and people teach each other.”
Check out other articles on sessions from this year’s ASNP National Conference:
Subscribe to the Knowledge Bank.
