My co-authors, our reviewers, and I know Retire Secure for Parents of a Child with a Disability offers a life-changing source of financial information for families who face overwhelming difficulties.

If you are a client, you should have already received a hard cover copy of the book and read my appeal for your help. If not, or even if so, please consider this newsletter a request to take a few moments to help families with a child with a disability.

But of course, it will only help improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of parents of children with disabilities and their children if the book gets into their hands.

We would be happy to send you as many copies as you like, either a hard cover or a digital copy. Ideally, you will scan the Table of Contents, read at least one section that captures your attention, and then, we hope you will help us with our mission.

Please see below for the three easy ways you can have a huge impact on thousands of families with minimal effort on your part. One of the most effective ways to help will be to post a short review on Amazon when the book is released on January 9, 2024. More on that below.

The Core Solution to Providing for a Child with a Disability

As you may have already known, our daughter Erica has a disability that will make it impossible for her to support herself. Devising and implementing the optimal strategy to secure and protect her financial future was mission critical. We did it. And the optimal solution for our family, subject to much customization, is also the best solution for most families. Here is the short version.

Get your child qualified for SSI or SSDI.

Get the estate planning, including drafting special needs trusts, and much more optimized.

Get the strategic planning right including optimizing a long-term Roth conversion plan, setting up an ABLE account, and other sophisticated tax-saving strategies.

What other sophisticated tax-saving strategies am I referring to? I encourage you to scan the Table of Contents—it is very detailed and comprehensive—and you will find multiple examples.

Most of Our Tax-Saving Strategies Are Equally Effective for All IRA and Retirement Plan Owners

Most of this book, excluding the specialty information for families with a child with a disability, is quite like my previous book, Retire Secure for Professors and TIAA Participants. Clients should have received a copy of that book earlier. That book has been released on Amazon and enjoys 68 five-star reviews of the 70 Amazon reviews that offered glowing endorsements of the book. To me, this is compelling evidence that the discerning public (if you read the quality of the reviews, you can tell these reviewers are smart and knowledgeable) loves these strategies and finds great value in our recommendations. Despite the specific audiences the books’ titles address—and both books contain specialized recommendations for their specific audiences—the fundamental strategies apply to most IRA and retirement plan owners.

What Drew Me In?

From my perspective as a parent of a child with a disability, we face enough daunting challenges just taking care of our child and the last thing we need is profound financial problems for us or our child.

Unfortunately, a majority of parents of children with disabilities have failed to optimize their planning. Most have not even done a mediocre job. This lack of planning will likely end in a potential financial tragedy for their child. In contrast, with optimal planning, a child’s financial future has the potential to be improved by hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Even someone with an IRA of $500,000, could improve their child’s situation by $239,068 in today’s dollars (for the details, please see p. 206 in the book).

Realistically, I was in a better position than anyone I knew to get this information out to the world (though my specific solution is only applicable in the United States). Writing and marketing this book is the most efficient way I know to reach a lot of people.

I wanted to write the ultimate resource. My deep understanding of Roth IRA conversions, estate planning for IRA owners, and the SECURE Act gave me the perfect background to come up with the ideal plan. We did the math, and our solution, though not cookie cutter, is sound.

But I wanted the book to be complete and there were mile-long gaps in my expertise in the area of disability planning. Fortunately, I was able to fill my gaps by collaborating with a dynamic duo of experts who work with parents of children with disabilities and young adults with disabilities. These are top people in their specialty.

Deborah L. McFadden is the Former United States Commissioner of Disabilities under President H.W. Bush. She knows more about the intricacies of applying for SSI and SSDI than anyone I know or than anything I could find in literature. Her contribution to the book could be life-changing for tens or even hundreds of thousands of readers. Furthermore, Deborah brings a wealth of personal expertise to the area. Her daughter, Tatyana McFadden, is one of the best known paralympic champions in the world with 8 gold medals and 24 World Major Marathon Wins.

My other co-author is Special Needs Planning attorney, Julieanne E. Steinbacher. Julieanne helps parents of children with disabilities develop their estate plans as well as drafting wills, special needs trusts, powers of attorneys, etc. She also coaches other estate attorneys in this field and educates consumers.

The co-authors, the reviewers, and I consider the book a goldmine. And, not just for parents of a child with a disability. This book is a great resource for all IRA and retirement plan owners.

Here are Three Ways You Can Help

The ideal is for you to review the Table of Contents, read at least one relevant section, get great value, and then help us on our mission.

1. First, post a review on Amazon after the official publication date on January 9, 2024. Previewing the Table of Contents and reading any section will eliminate any doubts about the value of the book. (Please note this book is quite like the book we sent you in October titled Retire Secure for Professors and TIAA Participants. That book received 68 glowing five-star reviews on Amazon. You could look up that book on Amazon for ideas of what to write).

For an instructional video on how to post a review on Amazon, please visit: DisabledChildPlanning.com/AmazonReview.

2. Second, help people you may know who have a child with a disability. You can easily give anyone you know a free copy of this book by simply by going to DisabledChildPlanning.com/Friend and requesting a free digital and/or hard cover copy be sent to the addresses you provide.

3. Third, put me in touch with someone who organizes financial talks for organizations that serve parents of children with disabilities. An email introduction or a quick call to your contact with the referral will be greatly appreciated.

Just a small amount of effort could ease the worries and anxieties of thousands of parents and their children.

A Quick Note for Reviewers Who Are Not Parents of a Child with a Disability

The key to getting value from this book is to read the sections that are most relevant for you. I cover contributions to 403(b), 401(k), and Roth IRAs, the impact of the SECURE Act, estate planning, Roth conversions, trusts, reducing taxes, inflation worries, medical expenses, and so much more.

You should feel free to comment and review based on sections of the book that were helpful to you. Your review could motivate either a parent of a child with a disability—or an influencer in the field—to purchase the book and act on our potentially life-changing recommendations.

With appreciation,