For family members and caregivers struggling to care for loved ones with intellectual and or developmental differences such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, autism, cerebral palsy or other conditions, just getting through the day can be difficult. So, planning for current and future needs can be completely overwhelming although always on the loved one’s mind.
“Special needs planning tends to be something that is completely overlooked by families or they don’t know where to start,” says Jeff Millard, a marketing, development, and consulting professional. “Having a trusted estate lawyer who has not only the compassion but also the very specific expertise is essential. It’s very important for families to have both so they are prepared, have peace of mind and have a connection with someone who really cares about them and their family now and in the future.”
Lawyer Terri Hilliard, a certified dementia care practitioner and special needs advocate, with offices in Westlake Village, Santa Barbara and Burbank, is highly capable of fulfilling this role. “Terri has been a longtime advocate and leader through her law firm and with community nonprofits as well,” says Millard. “She has served since 2010 on the Board of Directors and volunteers with both Senior Concerns of the Conejo for senior advocacy and Pause4KIDS, a special needs education and advocacy group which are near and dear to her heart.”
She volunteers regularly to help seniors and special needs individuals prevent abuse and fraud, as well as has been active with the Conejo Valley Estate Planning Council, Wealth Counsel and the Elder Counsel. Additionally, she led the way in the creation of the Pro Bono Panel of Attorneys program called “Legal Concerns” at Senior Concerns to help prevent unnecessary conservatorships for our vulnerable community members.
“There tends to be a common theme here,” says Millard. “She advocates for those who, for whatever reason, have vulnerabilities such as dementia and Alzheimer’s, as well as for families with special needs family members, really helping them think about all the preplanning they need to do from a trust and estate perspective to ensure that they are protecting their vulnerable family members.”
Without special needs preplanning essential services will be lost or unavailable to support these families. When unprepared, there’s a substantial time, money and emotional cost. Doing that planning, which includes long-term care, limited conservatorships if necessary, Alzheimer’s pre-planning, hospice preparation, trust administration and postmortem planning, is critical.”
He adds, “One of the things about Terri that is great is that she is an advocate for not only patients, but also caregivers, which is so important.”
Hillard has also written two informative books, You’re Not Alone: Living with Alzheimer’s Disease and You’re Not Alone: Living as an Alzheimer’s Caregiver. In addition, she hosts Terri Talks, a series of monthly Zoom sessions that she opens up to her clients as well as to the community. Each interactive session is about an hour to an hour and a half, and covers specific topics involving special needs planning, elder and long-term care, estate planning and strategic business succession planning. To get on the contact list for these talks, send an email to clientservices@terrihilliard.com or call 805.201.2552.
Due to her prominent standing as an attorney, mediator, elder care and special needs advocate and active community volunteer, Hilliard was named one of the Valley area’s top 200 most influential people as well as Attorney of the Year multiple times by The San Fernando Valley Business Journal. She has also been selected, once again, for ThePacific Coast Business Times annual “Who’s Who in Professional Services” list, which recognizes her as a leading attorney in the Tri-Counties area.
In addition, Hilliard has recently been chosen to serve on the Board of Governors of the California Women Lawyers’ District 6. In this role, she represents the interests of California Women Lawyers members in Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties and contributes to the organization’s overall work of advancing women in the profession of law.
To find out more about Terri Hilliard and how she and her team can assist your family, visit TerriHilliard.com.