Sean was in the fortunate position of "having two parents who loved him so much that they threw everything they had at his developmental issues," Walther says. For example, his father is past president of the St. Louis March of Dimes. The family became interested in autism when they saw Rain Man, a 1988 film about a selfish yuppie who discovers his autistic brother, Raymond, when their father leaves the bulk of his estate to the brother. The film traces the developing relationship between the two brothers. Walther says Sean is a savant in some ways, like Raymond in Rain Man. And the relationship between the two brothers reminded him of Sean and himself.
Walther got a good education and piled up some savings and wanted to give back. Although his own parents did everything they could for Sean, they still made mistakes simply because they weren't aware of the legal ramifications of a special needs child. "For me, it was a lot of seeing what my family did right and wrong," Walther says.
Too many families in this situation have a short-term outlook, which Walther says is understandable because a special needs child requires so many "right-away" decisions about health care and education. "They have to deal with therapy, school meetings and balancing the needs of other children in the family," he says. While fulfilling these requirements, many don't understand that they must also be teaching the child skills he will need to become as independent as possible and qualifying the child for Medicaid.
As special needs children grow, different things must be done at different ages. For example, when the child is aged 14 to 21, the parents need to focus him on skills such as getting dressed by himself, using a microwave and so forth. When he turns 21, he will desperately need those skills, particularly if the family has not gotten him qualified for Medicaid. "The government says that at 21, you are on your own unless you qualify for Medicaid," Walther says, adding that "Medicaid eligibility should not be viewed negatively."
Every special needs child should be qualified. A person who qualifies for Medicaid may still have other health insurance, he said. But the special needs child still needs Medicaid because if a parent loses a job or becomes disabled, he or she may not be able to provide health insurance for the child.
The autism community can also be a strong support system, he says. "One percent of children born today are autistic," he adds. "The social system required to support that is unbelievable."
Every special needs person is different, Walther explains. "A child with Down syndrome is first a child and then a Down syndrome child," he says. "You can't put all special needs clients in one bucket. I serve like a therapist for families, helping them sort through these issues."
Walther estimates that only a handful of fee planners serve special needs families. Many attorneys are skeptical of his specialty because they've had too many experiences with advisors who have no real expertise in dealing with these families. These advisors put all special needs clients into one bucket and try to sell them insurance, for example.
Walther uses only fees, but he imposes them in different ways. About 40% of his clients are special needs clients. Some families pay assets-under-management fees and receive full financial planning services, he says. But for some families "that doesn't make sense," he argues, so he often charges quarterly planning fees, which total about $5,000 a year. And, of course, for many families that's not doable either. So he does some pro bono work and provides answers to common questions on his Web site. He also sometimes takes phone calls from needy families.
When he appears at speaking engagements, Walther says it generates a lot of interest in his services and he often must turn families away because he can't serve them all. Roughly 10% of the population has a family member with special needs. One client who's been with Walther for six or seven years, recently told him that her grandson has Down syndrome.
Because he wants to have all his time available to work with clients, Walther uses Schwab Portfolio Services. He also has a team at Schwab. When he set up his business he drew up a list of ten things he needed to have done for him. Schwab Portfolio Services provides these things, including daily downloads, reconciliations and performance reporting.