Planning for Tomorrow… Today

Merrill Edge now offers financial planning and advice for the middle-income family or caregiver of a child with special needs.

A select team of Merrill Edge financial advisors have been trained through the Certified Special Needs Advisor (CSNA) program to help meet the particular requirements of families with children with special needs.

The program offers both personal and online financial guidance and support. The goal is to provide high-quality advice from specially-trained advisors to families and caregivers that don’t have a large amount of income to invest.

Special needs families are often inundated with the daily challenges of caring for a loved one and may put off planning for the future. The Merrill Edge website helps reduce the fear of the unknown with their Special Needs calculator. In just a few easy steps, done in the privacy of your own home, the stress of not knowing can be alleviated. The first step in planning for the future requires knowing what resources are necessary within the confines of your household income.

Financial planning entails many different facets. According to Ron Cappuccino, a CSNA for Merrill Edge, “A big item is cash flow and liability management, making sure there’s enough cash flow to meet the expenses of the special needs child. And obviously family protection; making sure that everything is documented properly, beneficiaries are set up properly, maybe a trust is needed for the benefit of the special needs child.”

Some families may feel they don’t have the assets to start planning. Regardless of position or level of income, it’s never too late to begin planning for tomorrow, but it is imperative to start today. Every day that goes by without a viable financial plan can increase apprehension and stress in what may already be a stressful life.

For more information on how to get started go to: www.merrilledge.com.

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This post originally appeared on our January/February 2013 Magazine