John Nadworny's Financial Plan

 for a Family with Special Needs

Featured in Money Magazine

Over the many years, in our presentations about financial planning for families of people with special needs, we always referred to ourselves as NOT the typical  Money magazine family. Times have changed.

Last fall, John received a telephone call from Jeff Howe, who was writing an article about financial concerns of families with a child with special needs.  Jeff’s interest extended beyond the story he had been hired to report- his 5 year old son Finn is diagnosed with autism and other significant medical conditions.  Like many others in his situation, Jeff and his wife Alysia were distressed and completely overwhelmed with trying to figure out what it would cost to raise their son and take care of the rest of the family. 

 According to the US Census bureau, nearly 1 in 5 people in the US have a disability, with half of them reporting the disability to be severe. ¹ About 1 in 88 children has been identified with an autism spectrum disorder.²   Given the vast number of families dealing with providing and planning for their loved one with a disability, there are a number of financial planners claiming expertise in special needs. Jeff interviewed and moved beyond several of them before finding John through an online search. Finally, he had called the right person.

 John Nadworny was familiar with scary math: his youngest child James was turning 22, the age at which school districts relinquish responsibility for a special needs child.  James has Down syndrome and John and his family planned and prepared for years to provide James with the means to have an independent and full life. To read about the Nadwornys’ experience planning for their son’s transition to independent living, click here: Diary of a Dream.

John applied his 20 years of experience in financial planning and knowledge of the costs  of a child with a disability and walked the Howe family through a process to help them reach their goals. The result is “Paying for Finn: a special needs child”, Money, May 2013.

Click the link below to read the full story. 

http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/01/pf/autism-costs.moneymag/3.html?iid=EL

 ¹Americans with disabilities 2010

² CDC Autism and Developmental Disabilities