Welcome to Waypoints

Individuals and parents of children with disabilities are struggling to figure out what to do to provide for their future. As a dad, I’ve had trouble finding consistently reliable information about what I should, and shouldn’t, be doing. It shouldn’t be this hard. Why isn’t there a master depository of knowledge, somewhere you can go to get pointed in the right direction, maybe even give you some keywords and tricky phrases?

Now there is. Welcome to Waypoints, a newsletter focused on helping you navigate the maze of benefits, resources, and services available to those with disabilities. My goal with this newsletter is to share updates, insights, and expert advice around future planning for those with disabilities (aka Special Needs Planning). Whether you're a family member, a wealth advisor, or someone interested in disability planning, you'll find valuable resources and guidance tailored to empower and inform.

I’ve made it my life’s mission to help families like mine. In addition to this newsletter I host the ABCs of Disability Planning podcast and post content on Visible’s YouTube channel.

My journey started back in 2012. I was supposed to retire from the Navy in June, but things didn’t go as planned. In April of that year, my wife got sick with a rare disease called HLH and spent a week in the ICU before I took her off life support. My son was 12 at the time, and completely dependent on his mom for all his support and caregiving.

I extended my time in the Navy until December 2012 and tried to figure out what to do next. All the plans we’d made evaporated, and having not been very involved in my son’s care I didn’t know what to do. Imagine my surprise when I found there wasn’t a lot of information available. This started me on my path.

Initially, I thought financial planning was the way to go. It would have certainly helped my wife and I. Time proved me wrong, being a financial planner wasn’t scratching the itch. So in 2017, I started Special Needs Navigator as a side business and started consulting with families about disability planning. I wanted to address the knowledge gap of Medicaid Waivers, Social Security, and other public benefit programs.

In March 2020, I found I had a Stage 2 nodular melanoma on my cheek and had the left side of my face removed (literally). I think we all remember what else was going on in 2020. Suffice it to say I had a lot of time to think, and I decided it was time to leave financial services for good and focus 100% on disability planning (Special Needs Planning). So I did, and I started doing business as “True North Disability Planning” instead of Special Needs Navigator because I had fallen out of love with the term “special needs”.

Fast forward to today. I’ve merged True North Disability Planning with Visible National Trust, taking a position as their Director of Beneficiary and Advisor Services. I’m still consulting with families and professionals, and now I have the added advantage of not having to keep up with the demands of business ownership.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! Please get in touch with (eric@specialneedsnavigator.us) if you have questions and/or topics you’d like me to cover. You don’t have to do this on your own.