Special Needs Planning: Trust Networks, Professional Roles, Benefits, and Solutions

Kristen M. Lewis | Harrison LLP

Ms. Lewis is nationally recognized for her proficiency in Special Needs Trust planning for persons challenged by disabilities and is a frequent speaker and author on this topic. She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and an active member of the Special Needs Alliance, where she has served as Co-Editor of that organization’s monthly e-newsletter, The Voice. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the New York Bar Association Elder Law Section, and the State Bar of Georgia Fiduciary Law Section. She is a former Co-Chair of the Long-Term Care, Medicaid and Special Needs Trusts Committee of the Elder Law, Disability Planning and Bioethics Group of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association.

Ms. Lewis received her B.A. degree in French and political science, with highest honors, from Wellesley College in 1981. She earned her J.D. degree from Cornell University Law School in 1984. Ms. Lewis is recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law, individual attorney rankings, and is included in the roster of Georgia Super Lawyers in Estate Planning and Probate. Additionally, she is recognized by Best Lawyers in America® in Trusts and Estates.

Ms. Lewis currently serves as a Board member of the Bobby Dodd Institute, a non-profit organization based in Atlanta which supports persons with disabilities through numerous employment and government benefits navigation programs. She recently completed her term as Board Chair of Eagle Ranch, a non-profit residential counseling program for children in northeast Georgia that works to unify troubled families, and currently serves as a Board member and Treasurer of the Eagle Ranch Foundation. She also recently completed her service on the Board of Wesley Woods Senior Living, which provides affordable housing for Georgia seniors of limited means, and serves as a consultant to Better Living Together, Inc., which seeks to provide affordable housing in Greater Atlanta for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities and others of modest means.

Ms. Lewis recently completed her service on the Board of the Center for the Visually Impaired, and previously served as the Board Chair of Georgia Community Supports & Solutions (now operating as In Community), each of which support persons with disabilities and their families. She has served on the Board of Cumberland Academy of Georgia, a private school for children with autism, and is a former member of the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Legacy Advisors Leadership Council. She is a past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta, Inc. and a former Trustee of the Wellesley College Alumnae Association.

Ms. Lewis is an active member of St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church in Atlanta, and has been trained as an annulment advocate with the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Atlanta. She is also an active member of the Serra Club of Atlanta, which supports seminarians and religious vocations. In her vast amounts of free time, she volunteers for Canine Assistants, a non-profit organization based in Milton, Georgia, which raises and trains certified service dogs for recipients with disabilities.

Ms. Lewis has authored an article on “Planning Challenges for Beneficiaries With Special Needs,” published in Estate Planning, Volume 46, Number 3, March 2019. She has co-authored an article entitled, “Top 15 Tips for Estate Planners When Planning for Special Needs,” published in Probate & Property, Volume 24, Number 2, March/April 2010, which won the magazine’s 2010 Excellence in Writing Award for “Best Overall Article – Trusts & Estates.” Her paper on “Planning for Beneficiaries with Special Needs” was included in the Fourth Quarter 2012 edition of the Journal of Estate & Tax Planning published by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils. She has also authored an article entitled “The Crime of the 21st Century: Financial Abuse of Elders,” which was published in Probate & Property, Volume 28, Number 4, July/August 2014. She recently co-authored an article for The Voice e-newsletter published by the Special Needs Alliance, regarding the “Sexual Abuse and Safety of Persons With Disabilities” (June 29, 2023).

Ms. Lewis has lectured frequently on the topic of Special Needs Planning for persons with disabilities for ACTEC, the American Law Institute, the Society of Financial Services Professionals, the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Heckerling Estate Planning Institute, the Special Needs Alliance, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, the Stetson Special Needs Planning and Special Needs Trust National Conference, the Southern Federal Tax Institute, the Federal Tax Institute of New England, the Duke Estate Planning Institute, the Johanson Estate Planning Institute, the O’Connor-Zaritsky Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Conference, the Georgia Federal Tax Institute, the Georgia Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, the Georgia Fiduciary Law Institute, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the ACTEC Southeast Fellows Institute. Ms. Lewis is a faculty member for the annual American Bankers Association Wealth and Trust School, addressing the complex topic of Special Needs Trust administration. She also regularly presents community workshops on these topics to groups of parents and allied professionals.

I. Understanding the “Network” of Special Needs Trusts | 2:00pm – 2:30pm

II. The Role of Allied Professionals in Special Needs Estate Planning | 2:30pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

III. Government Benefits and Programs in Special Needs Planning | 3:10pm – 3:40pm

IV. Challenges, Solutions, and Tools in Special Needs Estate Planning | 3:40pm – 4:10pm