About ABLE101.com

ABLE101.com is about helping you figure out what an ABLE account is, what it is for, who qualifies for one, how to select one of the state ABLE programs and encourage you to get one started.

Do you want a forward looking financial plan for your loved one that has special needs, that will work for their entire life?

Do you want a low cost way to save money for your loved one that has a disability?

Have you been told that there is no way to save more than $2,000 for someone that is receiving SSI or Medicaid or that the only way to save is to set up a costly Special Needs Trust?

An ABLE account offers an option with people with disabilities to save money. For those individuals that receive public benefits, such as SSI/Medicaid, savings in an ABLE account will not count towards resource limits.

An ABLE account is the keystone of a successful financial plan for those with special needs that can be implemented immediately and can be a critical part of that plan for the entire life of your loved one.

About the Author

I have an amazing family. Married to a wonderful woman and a father to 5, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl-in-law that married the first boy. We love each of our children. Our youngest boy has special needs. Because of that we always have one eye open on how we can help him through his various stages of life and his siblings are helping along the way. Special needs, like most things in life, are a family affair.

My reason for spinning up ABLE101.com was because of my experiences visiting with other parents that have children with special needs. Some of those parents were familiar with special needs trusts, others with guardianship and SSI. Few had heard about ABLE accounts. Most of them were confused about what some things mean, what they would have to do with an ABLE account (like it is just one more thing that they would be required to keep track of), and what the future of their child would look like. Some of them, that had engaged with financial advisors, were even more confused why their financial advisor had not mentioned ABLE accounts before (like maybe they are not legal) or that their financial advisor had discouraged them to open one for their loved one with a disability.

As I would visit with some of these friends and explain what an ABLE account is and how it could help them with their own plans they understood more what other questions they had about financial planning in general and how they could put a plan together that would help them plan for their children’s needs, both today, tomorrow and for the future. A number of them felt encouraged by learning about financial planning on their own and made changes to accelerate and act for themselves instead of relying on a financial planner to do things for them. Often times their financial planners were not very up to date with special needs planning anyway.

About the Site

My hope is that a visitor to ABLE101.com will be able to use the website to:

  • Understand what an ABLE account is
  • Understand why they need an ABLE account for themselves or their child that has a disability – even before they begin to receive SSI/Medicaid
  • Help them narrow down and be able to choose a state ABLE program fairly quickly
  • Figure out how to use an ABLE account in their financial plan

All comments are welcome. It would be great if visitors to the site could share their own best practices with using ABLE accounts or other financial tools for those with special needs. This can include specific experiences with different state ABLE programs.

Where to Start

Since my main objective is to introduce someone to ABLE accounts I suggest start on the left side of the home page with the “Start Here:” section. I hope it is obvious. The content is meant to be simple, straight forward and enabling to complement competent, professional advice. ABLE accounts are self managed and that is why those with special needs, and those that care for them, can now save and invest in their futures at a very low cost, even without professional help.