Parenting Impossible – The Special Needs Survival Podcast

Does my child or loved one need a Special Needs Trust? That's one common question we get and in this episode Annette discusses some of the myths surrounding special needs trusts.

Annette Hines and Attorney Mark Worthington of Special Needs Law Group based in Massachusetts sit down and discuss some of the top myths when it comes to this important legal tool for your special needs family.

With the sophistication of the internet, there is a lot of information out there about special needs trusts and special needs planning. Not all of it is accurate, or applicable to your family.

First, Annette and Mark discuss the fact that there is more than one type of special needs trust. And what can these trusts pay for once they are funded? Is it true that they can only be used for medical or special needs expenses? They consider this question and a few others in this episode. Although Special Needs Trusts are generally following Federal statutes and regulations, each state may have some differing interpretations. Annette and Mark discuss the general terms in which a trust can be created and ultimately used.

Most importantly, Annette and Mark discuss the benefits of creating a special needs trust for your loved one including when public benefits are available as well as inheritance assets. Planning and leaving assets to your special needs loved one is an important part of planning for a bright future and Mark and Annette take you through this important topic!

More on this subject can be found here; https://specialneeds-law.com/special-needs-law/special-needs-trust-administration/

This episode of Parenting Impossible is once again dedicated to our special needs siblings.

Annette sits down again with Alexandria Nadworny and Hillary Dunn Stanisz for part two of their discussion about special needs siblings and the important issues that they commonly face.

Alexandria Nadworny is a special needs financial planning specialist who has taken her experience as a special needs sibling and has created a passion for helping individuals with special needs and their families create secure financial futures.

Hillary Dunn Stanisz is a senior attorney at the Disability Law Center in Boston where she represents people with disabilities in cases including cases of abuse and neglect. Hillary is also the co-president of the Massachusetts Sibling Support Network, which is an organization based in Boston to support those siblings of special needs individuals.

Annette discusses special needs planning with both Alex and Hillary as well as the unique outlook for the future that special needs siblings have. They discuss their shared experiences growing up and the thoughts they have to share with our audience when planning for a bright future for their brothers.

Hillary and Alex also talk about their professional lives and how being a special needs sibling has inspired both of them to create professional careers that utilized their personal experiences to help other special needs families and siblings.

Hillary and Alex are both extremely dedicated to their families as well as the families of others and their shared experiences are invaluable when working with other families.

You will learn quite a bit about the importance of including special needs siblings in the planning process in this episode.

You can find Alex at: www.affiniafg.com

You can find Hillary at: http://www.masiblingsupport.org/

This episode of Parenting Impossible is dedicated to our special needs siblings.

Annette sits down with two incredible women who have put their heart and soul as well as dedicating their professional lives into making sure the siblings of special needs individuals are heard and valued.

Guests this week are Alexandria Nadworny and Hillary Dunn Stanisz and are both siblings of special needs individuals. Alexandra is a special needs financial planning specialist and Hillary is a senior attorney at the Disability Law Center in Boston.

The three discuss the ups and downs of being a family member as well as a sibling that may someday need to become a caretaker of their brother. They talk about their teenage years and are very honest with their feelings and amount of family engagement when they were younger. And, they also discuss some of the more humorous things that happened growing up.

What else about being a sibling? Well, they both admit that having a special needs brother was a great test for both friends and some of the boyfriends they brought home! Did they engage or were they not interested?

And both Alex and Hillary give some advice to other siblings about growing up as a special needs sibling, and what it takes to look to the future of care for their loved one.

All three give some heartfelt some parenting advice for special needs parents including how to support all the children in the family and treating each family member as an individual.

This episode is heartwarming, funny, honest and educational all at the same time.

You can find Alex at: www.affiniafg.com

You can find Hillary at: http://www.masiblingsupport.org/

In this episode of Parenting Impossible, we chat with the tireless disability advocate, Cheryl Ryan Chan. Cheryl has taken many of her experiences as a special needs mom and has worked vigorously to advocate for others in the state of Massachusetts as well as on the national stage.

First, we discuss her efforts to pass Nicky's Law which proposes to set up a registry in the state of Massachusetts for those who abuse individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Currently, as of September 2019, there is no such way to track abusers. She talks about the support that the bill has received and the frustrations that come with trying to pass legislation.

Cheryl shares her personal story of why this is such a needed protection in our communities, talks about the reason she started this effort, and where we stand in the effort to pass such a law.

Cheryl and Annette also chat about Person-centered Planning, a concept that Cheryl takes with her across the country. Person-centered Planning takes a person-first approach and makes sure that the wants and needs of a person, given their strengths and capabilities are at the forefront of any decisions and planning.

Her trainings involve how families and caregivers can create support systems for our loved ones, how to secure a bright future for our special needs loved ones and collaborate best for a common goal. In the end, a path to success and a roadmap for the individual are created.

If you need to create a roadmap and a well thought-out plan for your special needs family member, you need to contact Cheryl. She's the best!

You can learn more about Nicky's Law here: https://thearcofmass.org/abuseregistry/

Find out more about Cheryl's Person-centered Planning services here. http://personcenteredplanning.com/

Connect with Cheryl here. [email protected]

Welcome to Parenting Impossible, The Special Needs Survival Podcast. In this first episode, you'll be introduced to your host, Annette Hines, a special needs mom and an attorney specializing in special needs law. While she'll be your host on all the episodes, Attorney Mark Worthington will take this episode to introduce you to Annette.

Annette and Mark discuss why she has launched this podcast focusing on special needs, and why she feels it is needed. She also discusses her background and her many years advocating for individuals with special needs and their families.

What are some of the burning questions every special needs family has? Annette will discuss the many topics that she will feature on future podcasts including special needs law, trusts, sibling issues and concerns and the rights of those with disabilities. She will feature parents, siblings, experts in the field of disabilities and many more guests.

If you have a special needs family member, this is the podcast that you'll want to listen to every week.

Please subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss an episode and if you like what you hear, please tell us what you think in a review.

If you want to learn more about Annette Hines and Special Needs Law Group, as well as the other ways in which Annette and her team help families, you can find them at:

https://specialneeds-law.com/

https://specialneedscompanies.com/