Terry Savage Talks Money with Mary Anne Ehlert

If you believe in angels on earth, then certainly you'd have to believe that Mary Anne Ehlert is one of them.

Those sparkling blue eyes and warm smile become more intense when she describes the motivation for setting up a financial planning practice devoted exclusively to helping families that have children with special needs.

I realized my parents weren't planning. They were just keeping their fingers crossed. And so I started to research Social Security, Medicaid and special needs trusts. And now that's all we do, and we have a waiting list of families."

Ehlert has all the credentials, including a Certified Financial Planner diploma and a wall full of awards and citations.

Her staff of 18 professionals are not simply financial people. "We have planners and social workers and nurses," she said. "They evaluate the disability, we become the representative of the family and do all the benefit applications. Nationally across the country, we have an extensive database. We have researched Medicare and Social Security and state benefits. I have relationships with all the government offices.

"One woman here worked at MetLife doing disability applications. She's also an RN. They work in teams - financial, medical and social workers, all on a team to help the family.

"I have all stars working here. They're all so passionate about what they do. They thought they were coming to work in a financial planning firm, but they're all very involved with the families.

"There are a lot of hugs given out here."

"There are some big issues involved. Who will care for these children when they reach age 21, and no longer qualify for mandated public school assistance? What happens when they need recreational activities, but are too old for Special Olympics? And most of all, what's the, plan for when their parents pass on, and they are on their own?

"We do regular financial plan-ning here, but this is the extra component. We ask parents to write down their dreams for the child. Then we build on that."

"What does the child's, life look like -- grade school, high-school, then the transition years? Then together we create a future care plan. We talk about how much money, must be put in place for each stage, and how we are going to get them benefits, get them funding."

Ehlert explained that it's not a question of wealthy parents trying to access benefits, and shielding their assets." Some families [we see] have no money, and we do some pro-bono work. We don't turn anyone away.

But most of the people we see are ordinary couples struggling through life with several children, one disabled, and they don't know what they're in store for - fighting the school system, finding and accessing benefits...

"Yes, maybe 10 percent are very wealthy people -- who still need help, because if they don't position their child properly, and it doesn't matter if they have $20 million or $150 million, they won't get into the best programs. Because you can't buy into some programs, no matter how willing you are to write a check. The disabled person has to be Medicaid approved to qualify.

Ehlert pointed out that a disabled person's medical bills could easily wipe out any life insurance benefits left directly to an adult child, and in the meantime, the person could lose residential status in a Medicaid-supported, group-living situation. She explained the two types of, special needs trusts that parents can set up to ensure their child's continued financial support.

"The first is the Special Needs Trust, sometimes called a 15.1 trust after that section of the law. Money in that trust can be used over and above government funding, but not for basic support. There are things above what government pays for that a disabled person needs -- special clothes, money for movies or bowling or other personal needs. The money in this type of trust must be third party money. That is, it cannot be money that is the property of the child."

When I asked how a disabled young person could have money that is his or her own property, Ehlert quickly pointed out that many disabled people do work, though for low wages. When a company includes that person in a 401(k) plan, and contributes money for them in such a plan, it could easily cause a loss of other benefits. So Ehlert explained the other kind of trust.

"The other kind of trust is called a Payback Special Needs Trust, sometimes known as the D 4-a Trust. It can only be set up by parents, grandparents, guardians, or the court. It is for money in the name of the person with the disability, from such sources like earnings, gifts, inheritances or accident settlements. It also can be used to support additional needs above government benefits, but when the disabled person dies, Medicaid gets reimbursed out of the balance."

Ehlert is active in encouraging personal injury attorneys to set up these Payback Trusts for settlements, and she is also trying to get legislation passed to make the earnings of assets inside these trusts grow tax-free.

As if her practice weren't enough to keep her and her staff busy, Ehlert gives 20 or more speeches a month to parents or disabled children, working through organizations such as Easter Seals, Special Olympics, the MS society, Clearbrook and others. She has trademarked her financial planning system for the disabled; called "Protected Tomorrows," and is licensing It to other financial planners, but only those, who have some personal connection to the disabled.

And Ehlert has written a book to be published later this year. It's called The Gift I was Given, and it tells her sister's story with many of the details coming from letters Ehlert's mother wrote, so Ehlert would know more details about her sister's idiosyncrasies and needs. Those letters have already inspired a workbook that Ehlert's clients fill out, helping to sort out their own situations. That's part of her Protected Tomorrows planning system.

Ehlert's sister, Marcia, died eight years ago, at age 39. But Ehlert, with her blue eyes shining a bit more brightly, said the upcoming book about Marcia illustrates the power of individuals with disabilities to change other people's lives.

"My sister was very powerful," she said. "She changed my life, and the life of my siblings. And because of her, I got into this work, so really she changed thousands of lives. Isn't that what life is all about?"

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Terry Savage is a registered investment adviser and is on the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and McDonald's Corp. She appears weekly on WMAQ Channel 5's 4:30 p.m. newscast, and can be reached at her Web site, www.terrysavage.com.

Chicago Sun Times
Sunday, January 25, 2004

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