Planning for Persons With Disabilities:
Top 30 Best Practice Tips When Advising Families With Special Needs Beneficiaries

March 19, 2024

Seminar Description

This presentation will review the “network” of Special Needs Trusts that serves as the foundation for securing the future of persons challenged by disabilities; the team of “allied professionals” that helps design and implement a comprehensive Special Needs Estate Plan; the types of government benefits and programs that can be accessed and preserved with proper Special Needs Trust planning; and the most common challenges (and solutions) encountered in Special Needs Estate Planning.

Presenter

Kristen M. Lewis, Esq.
The Bowden Law Firm

Ms. Lewis is nationally recognized for her proficiency in Special Needs Trust planning for persons challenged by disabilities, and is a frequent speaker and author on this topic. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and an active member of the Special Needs Alliance, where she has served as Co-Editor of that organization’s monthly e-newsletter, The Voice. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the New York Bar Association Elder Law Section, and the State Bar of Georgia Fiduciary Law Section. She is a former Co-Chair of the Long-Term Care, Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts Committee of the Elder Law, Disability Planning and Bioethics Group of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Ms. Lewis received her B.A. degree in French and political science, with highest honors, from Wellesley College in 1981. She earned her J.D. degree from Cornell University Law School in 1984. She is admitted to practice law in both New York and Georgia. Ms. Lewis is recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, individual attorney rankings, and is included in the roster of Georgia Super Lawyers in Estate Planning and Probate. Additionally, she is recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in Trusts and Estates.

Ms. Lewis has authored an article on “Planning Challenges for Beneficiaries With Special Needs,” published in Estate Planning, Volume 46, Number 3, March 2019. She has co-authored an article entitled, “Top 15 Tips for Estate Planners When Planning for Special Needs,” published in Probate & Property, Volume 24, Number 2, March/April 2010, which won the magazine’s 2010 Excellence in Writing Award for “Best Overall Article – Trusts & Estates.” Her paper on “Planning for Beneficiaries with Special Needs” was included in the Fourth Quarter 2012 edition of the Journal of Estate & Tax Planning published by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. She has also authored an article entitled “The Crime of the 21st Century: Financial Abuse of Elders,” which was published in Probate & Property, Volume 28, Number 4, July/August 2014.

Ms. Lewis has lectured frequently on the topics of elder financial abuse and Special Needs Planning for persons with disabilities for ACTEC, the American Law Institute, the Society of Financial Services Professionals, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute, the Special Needs Alliance, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, the Stetson Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trust National Conference, the Southern Federal Tax Institute, the Federal Tax Institute of New England, the Duke Estate Planning Institute, the Johanson Estate Planning Institute, the Georgia Federal Tax Institute, the Georgia Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, the Georgia Fiduciary Law Institute, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the ACTEC Southeast Fellows Institute.

Schedule

12:00 PM - 12:10 PM - Opening Remarks
12:10 PM - 1:00 PM - Presentation and Q&A

Registration  Fees

Members -$0
Non-Members - $10

Approved (03/01/2024) BEPC's educational events may meet the requirements of Rule 15D under the Massachusetts Establishment and Administration of Mandatory Professional Education for the Practice of Public Accountancy.

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