"Daniel Cutter is a First Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor with the Special Needs Team at Merrill Lynch. Headquartered in San Francisco, Dan works with clients throughout the West, providing tailored advice and guidance to enhance the long-term financial well-being of special-needs, disabled and elderly individuals. He is particularly skilled in working with clients’ external trust and legal advisors to design customized programs squarely focused on the well-being of the client. His areas of focus include Special Needs Trusts, government benefits, trust administration, the Uniform Prudent Investor Act, and California Probate Code.

Dan began his wealth management career in 1999. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch in 2005, he served as a Financial Advisor with Morgan Stanley. He earned his M.B.A. with a concentration in Finance from the University of San Francisco and holds the Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM designation awarded by the College for Financial Planning. Dan has served as a consultant for two major legal publications: Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration through the California Continuing Education of the Bar, and Administrating the California Special Needs Trust."

"Ann Koerner is President of National Care Advisors – a firm dedicated to providing consulting services for attorneys, financial planners, fiduciaries and trustees. National Care Advisors provides care and quality of life planning services for those families faced with physical disability, mental illness, developmental disability, or eldercare issues. Services include planning and case management applicable to Special Needs Trusts and government benefits preservation. National Care Advisors also specializes in post-litigation resolution consulting services specific to lien negotiation, Medicare Set Aside projections and administration.

Prior to the inception of National Care Advisors in 2008, Ann’s nursing practice has been dedicated to developing effective disability management solutions for injured and ill workers. As a result of her work with many national corporations, Ann possesses extensive business knowledge of case management, utilization review, third party payers, workers’ compensation, private insurance companies and government resources."

"Herb Thomas, is the founder of Kairos Fiduciary Services, serving as a trustee for Special Needs Trusts and Settlement Trusts is more than a job or career. It is a calling that holds a personal significance, since he has a child diagnosed with special needs. Herb understands what parents and people who are injured need to consider as they move forward in their lives.

Herb has years of expertise in Special Needs Trust and Settlement Trust administration in the state of California and nationwide as well as a depth of experience in Conservatorships, Public Benefits Advocacy, and Probate Estate Administration. He is a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary (CLPF), with license number #86—meaning he was one of the first 100 people in California to earn the authority to serve as a professional fiduciary."

"Kevin Urbatsch is a principal of the special needs and settlement planning law firm, The Urbatsch Law Firm P.C. located in Pleasant Hill, California. Kevin also serves as National Director of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP), a national organization of special needs and settlement planning professionals. Kevin is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. Kevin is also a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).

Kevin Urbatsch is the host of the Special Needs Planning Symposium, a three-day special needs planning training for professionals interested in mastering this area of practice. The program provides continuing legal education and certified specialist credit. The website is located at www.sntsymposium.com. Kevin Urbatsch has served as expert witness on several cases concerning the settlement needs of persons with disabilities and minors. He testified in a trial in Alameda County and one held in England based on California law."