Mary Anne Ehlert is a financial planner who has dedicated her life to creating a planning system for families of children with disabilities. This interest arose from the fact her sister suffers from cerebral palsy. Her interest was to help create a lifetime plan for persons who will always need care.
Her company, Protected Tomorrows, Inc. is an advocacy firm that enhances the lives of people with special needs through a comprehensive life planning process which addresses the needs of the individual with developmental disabilities, mental illness, physical disabilities or cognitive and neurological diseases in the following areas: education, residential, legal, financial, health care, government benefits and employment.
She realizes that many families cannot afford the cost of the kind of intensive planning incurred in hiring a financial planner. She has created a computerized program that costs $129 to get started, plus an annual fee of $29. It is an online program that helps families think through all the decisions that must be made on behalf of their children such as – who will be the future caregivers and trustees – how can money be put aside for care without affecting federal benefit programs – what happens when your child reaches age 18 or 21 and “ages out” of many benefits for children, such as participation in the special education system – and also, what plans will be in place for when one or both parents die.
According to the Center for Disease Control, one in 88 children is being diagnosed with autism – up from one in 100 children in 2006. These numbers create great need for counseling and planning services. For more information, go to www.ProtectedTomorrows.com or call 847-522-8086.
Ms. MacDonald’s practice is limited to Estate Planning, Probate, Conservatorships, Elder Law and Trust Administration. Ms. MacDonald maintains her practice in the Santa Clarita Valley at 25115 Avenue Stanford, Suite B-124 in Valencia. She can be reached at 661-294-6464.