Financial Planning

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How to Apply for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) & Protective Supervision – 2025

Learn how to apply to In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) in this video. IHSS is a California-only benefit for those who qualify.

How to Apply for Supplemental Security Income – 2025

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal assistance program designed to help elderly people or those with disabilities. Learn how to apply.

Creating a Practical Housing Plan for Your Loved One with a Disability

If you're wondering how to make the family home a home for your loved one with a disability after the parents are gone, this webinar is for you

How to Involve Siblings in Financial Planning for Your Adult with a Disability

Join Ellen Cookman of Cookman Law for a discussion about our "super siblings" and their role in planning for the future of our loved ones with disabilities

How CalABLE Accounts Help Children and Adults with Disabilities

If you want to know how a CalABLE account could benefit your loved one's financial planning, you've come to the right place!

What We Need to Know: CalABLE Accounts

Have you wondered how having a California Achieving Better Life Experiences account could benefit your loved one’s financial planning? Well, wonder no more…

What We Need to Know: Special Needs Trusts and Letters of Intent

Learn how a special needs trust works, as well as the letter of intent regarding the care and well-being of a person with special needs.

Administering a Special Needs Trust After Parents Are Gone

The choice of a trustee or management system is often the most important factor in the effectiveness of a special needs trust. Find out here the different alter...

How to Ensure My Loved One Is Taken Care of After I’m Gone

Learn about how to protect your disabled adults’ assets and public benefits when you’re no longer around to do it.

What are Special Needs Trusts and the Letter of Intent

Learn how special needs trusts and letters of intent can be part of your family’s special needs financial plan.

What are SSI and SSDI with DAC? More than a bunch of letters …

Learn how and why to secure public benefits like Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance for your loved one with a disability.

What is CalABLE and How Can It Help with Financial Planning?

What is a California Achieving Better Life Experiences (CalABLE) account, and how can it help with our family’s special needs financial planning?

Creating a Successful Social Security Disability Application

Come learn about the two SSA programs for individuals with disabilities and how to successfully complete the SSA application for the appropriate program.

Introduction to Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts

Learn about Special Needs Trusts and ABLE accounts in 2023 from Ellen Cookman, Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law .

How To Set Up a Special Needs Trust in California | Step-by-Step Guide

By Ellen Cookman - Special Needs Trust Attorney
Learn what's involved in creating a special needs trust in California.

Everything You Need to Know About Special Needs Trusts

Learn about special needs trusts and how they allow a person with a disability maintain their eligibility for public assistance benefits.

Using a Professional as Trustee for a Special Needs Trust

Family members often fill the role of trustee for a special needs trust, but there is an alternative: the private, professional fiduciary.

Shift from SSI to SSA’s Disabled Adult Child (DAC) Program

Learn to shift from SSI to SSA’s Disabled Adult Child (DAC) program and eligibility, requirements and benefits.

How to Avoid the Most Common SSI Application Pitfalls

Come learn about SSI versus SSDI and how to successfully provide SSA with what it needs to approve an application for public benefits.

Unique Issues for a Special Needs Trust and CalABLE

Learn about special needs trusts in California and ABLE accounts, and how the two interconnect.

What is an ABLE account?

By Ellen Cookman - Special Needs Trust Attorney
Ellen Cookman, an attorney, explains the basics about ABLE accounts in 12 minutes!

Financial Benefits for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Learn what you need to know before your child turns 18 about financial benefits they might be able to access.

Disabled Adult Child & Social Security Benefits

Learn about benefits from the Social Security Administration, before and after your retirement, for your adult child with a disability.