Although we wish the program could serve every family with a child that has special needs, in order to meet the program’s mission and serve as many families as possible with the program’s available resources, we have established a number of initial eligibility limitations.

Specifically, the program is designed for individuals and couples who:

  • Are Illinois residents and U.S. citizens
  • Have a child residing in Illinois (and expected to continue residing in Illinois) with a disability that is expected to last 12 months or longer and that likely will prevent the child from being self-supporting
  • Have a current household net worth of under $750,000
  • Have annual household adjusted gross income of under $150,000, as verified by your most recently-filed federal income tax return
  • Are not seeking counsel regarding the ownership of real estate outside of Illinois
  • Do not have existing funded trusts (i.e., trusts that currently hold assets) for their benefit or the benefit of their spouse
  • Do not have existing wills or powers of attorney that they wish to keep in effect
  • For married couples, are not undergoing divorce proceedings or contemplating divorce
  • Are not seeking Medicaid planning for themselves
  • Are comfortable with the limited planning options available through the program
Native American portrait on wood

Please be aware that these are initial eligibility limitations. If you meet these initial limitations, attend the presentation, and subsequently submit a completed planning intake form, we still might determine that you are not eligible to participate in the simplified planning portion of the program due to some complexity in your situation or planning choices. In such a case, we do hope that you find the presentation to be helpful.

If we are not able to serve you in the program, we encourage you to consult either with another estate planning attorney that has supplemental needs planning experience, or with our office outside of the pro bono program, in order to prepare appropriate documents for you.

Determine your household net worth as follows:

Step 1.

Calculate the total value of your assets (and, if married, of your spouse), including:

  • Cash (such as checking and savings accounts, CDs, money-market funds)
  • Stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
  • Stock options
  • Closely-held business interests
  • Retirement accounts (such as a 401(k), IRA, or SEP)
  • Deferred compensation plans
  • Commercial annuities
  • Value of home and any vacation property
  • Automobiles
  • Art, collectibles, jewelry, furnishings
  • Blockchain assets (e.g., cryptocurrency, NFT’s)

Step 2.

Calculate the total amount of any debts, including:

  • Mortgages
  • Home-equity loans
  • Credit card balances
  • Personal loans
  • Student loans
  • Auto loans

Step 3.

Subtract the total debt from the total assets to obtain your household net worth, which must be under $750,000 in order to be eligible for the program.

Gross Income

To be eligible to participate in the Pro Bono Program, attendees must provide a copy of the first two pages of their most recently-filed federal income tax return, which shows their annual adjusted gross income to be less than $150,000.