ChSNC study guide

ChSNC · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

The Chartered Special Needs Consultant® (ChSNC®) is a specialized designation offered by The American College of Financial Services for professionals who advise individuals with disabilities or other special needs, along with their families and caregivers. The program is designed for financial planners, lawyers, trust attorneys, and other practitioners seeking in-depth knowledge of special needs planning. The curriculum consists of three required courses: HS 375 Introduction to Disability and Lifetime Planning, HS 376 Legal and Financial Issues for Special Needs Families, and HS 377 Financial Planning for Families Caring for Those with Special Needs, which is delivered as a live webinar. Together, these courses cover tax planning, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), special needs trusts, ABLE accounts, Medicaid, estate planning, life insurance options, long-term care planning, and ethical issues in disability planning. The ChSNC study guide has 3 sections and about 1,373 words.

HS 375 - Introduction to Disability and Lifetime Planning

HS 375 tests whether you can define disability under the three statutory definitions that matter, place a family at the correct life stage, and connect a functional limitation to the planning tools that follow. Questions rarely ask for a diagnosis; they ask what a given limitation means for benefits, education, and decision-making authority.

464 words, about 2 min 02

HS 376 - Legal and Financial Issues for Special Needs Families

HS 376 tests the legal architecture that keeps assets from destroying eligibility: who may fund which trust, what must be repaid, who decides, and which documents actually control at death. The exam favors the ownership question - whose money is it?

462 words, about 2 min 03

HS 377 - Financial Planning for Families Caring for Those with Special Needs

HS 377 asks you to turn the legal structure into a funded, invested, monitored plan: what will care cost, what resources will pay for it, and how will the trust be administered after the parents die. Build a life care plan rather than one headline number: housing, support staff, therapies, transportation, assistive technology, medical copays, recreation, advocacy, trustee and advisor fees, and a contingency.

447 words, about 2 min