Pooled Trusts Intensive
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
8:00a.m.-8:10 a.m.
Welcome and Announcements
8:10 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
How Media Cover Stories of People with Disabilities
Jennifer LaFleur
This session will highlight disability journalism, disability language and best practices around telling stories about people with disabilities. It will provide resources for learning more, including several tools from the National Center for Disability and Journalism, which works to improve news media coverage of disability.
9:00 a.m.-9:50 a.m.
The Role of Technology
[TBD]
[Description coming soon]
9:50 a.m.-10:10 a.m.
Break and Visit with Sponsors and Exhibitors
Sponsored by Special Needs Alliance
10:10 a.m.-11:00 a.m.
My Cloudy Crystal Ball
Stephen Dale and Peter Wall
[Description coming soon]
11:10 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
From Tragedy to Triumph and Everything in Between
Eric LeGrand (via Zoom)
Eric will dive into his childhood story, which will paint a description of who he was before his injury, and then everything that took place after. The ups, the downs, and finding a new positive perspective of life.
12:00 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Lunch
Sponsored by Life Enrichment Trust
1:30 p.m.-2:20 p.m. Breakout Session 1
- Technology is a Reasonable Expense
Eric Einhart
Technology has become an essential tool for many individuals with disabilities, supporting communication, education, employment, health care, safety, and independent living. As clients increasingly look to pooled trusts and other
- Missing Beneficiaries and Other Hard-to-Find Individuals: Practical Strategies for Trustees and Administrators
Haley Greer
Trustees and trust professionals are increasingly faced with the challenge of locating missing beneficiaries, family members, fiduciaries, and other individuals connected to a trust. This presentation explores practical and legally defensible methods for conducting searches, documenting efforts, evaluating privacy concerns, and deciding when additional action is necessary. Topics include common search tools and reducing liability when beneficiaries cannot be located. Real-world scenarios and practical tips will help attendees build effective procedures for trust administration.
2:25 p.m.-3:15 p.m. Breakout Session 2
- Benefits Counseling and Discretionary Distribution Decisions
Lee Ann Fulena
Benefits counseling and discretionary distribution decisions are distinct concepts, but often intersect in the administration of trusts, public benefits planning, and services for people with disabilities. Benefits counseling helps people with disabilities understand how employment, income, gifts, inheritances, settlements, or trust distributions may affect their eligibility for public benefits, allowing them to make informed financial decisions with confidence. For Trustees, benefits counseling provides significant value by aiding with discretionary distribution decisions, improving client outcomes, reducing the risk of unintended benefit loss, and strengthening relationships with beneficiaries, families, attorneys, and other professionals. In this program, we will discuss the “benefits” of benefits counseling for both beneficiaries and trustees, the type of benefits that should be covered, and how it can help a Trustee with discretionary decisions. Most importantly, how can your agency create their own benefits counseling team? - Social Security and SSI Update 2026 (The Ken & Jen Show)
Ken Brown and Jennifer Burdick
What are the latest changes and developments from the Social Security Administration, how will they impact my practice and what might we expect to see in the near future? This session seeks to answer those questions and address additional hot topics.
3:15 p.m.-3:35 p.m.
Break and Visit with Sponsors and Exhibitors
Sponsored by Special Needs Alliance
3:35 p.m.-4:25 p.m. Breakout Session 3
- There’s a New Marshall in Town: Trustee Duties When Trust Payments Go Off Track
Megan Brand and Susie Germany
Pooled and individual special needs trusts often depend on funding sources governed by court orders, settlement agreements, or statutory obligations. Trustees must not only understand their fiduciary duty to secure these payments but also navigate the legal mechanisms available when payments lapse. This presentation examines the intersection of trust administration and enforcement: identifying funding obligations, pursuing delinquent payments, coordinating with counsel, and documenting compliance. We will also discuss scalable tracking systems that help trustees manage recurring payments across multiple beneficiaries and avoid gaps that could jeopardize benefits or trust viability. - When Caregivers Face Deportation
Art Rios
For many individuals with disabilities, their primary caregiver is also the person who provides daily stability, medical advocacy, transportation, financial management, and emotional support. But what happens when that caregiver is suddenly placed in removal proceedings or faces deportation?
This session explores the intersection of immigration law and special needs planning, examining the profound legal and practical consequences that immigration enforcement can have on individuals with disabilities and their families.
Attendees will gain an understanding of the immigration relief that may be available to caregivers, the importance of early collaboration between immigration and special needs planning attorneys, and practical strategies to help protect vulnerable beneficiaries before a crisis occurs.
4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
Legislative Update/Call to Action
Kerry Tedford-Coles, Roxane Chang, and David Goldfarb
Staying current with legislative, regulatory and policy updates that impact people with disabilities is a necessity to properly support pooled trust beneficiaries. 2026 continues to pose significant uncertainty and continuing challenges for individuals with disabilities and trustees. The panel will review the most current legislative, regulatory, and policy updates that trustees need to know. Session experts will also provide an overview of any new proposed changes along with what the disability community has accomplished over the past year along with what pooled trust administrators can do to continue to promote education and awareness regarding public benefits.