Special Needs Planning · Virginia
Special needs financial planning in Virginia
We work with Virginia families over video, the same way we handle most of our planning meetings. Registered in the Commonwealth, familiar with its programs, and never more than a screen away.
The federal rules that shape special needs planning are the same in Richmond as they are in Baltimore: the $2,000 SSI resource limit, ABLE account protections, and special needs trust treatment. What changes by state is the program menu: which ABLE plan makes sense, how Medicaid waivers administer services, and which state tax breaks apply.
For Virginia families, that usually starts with ABLEnow and the state tax deduction that comes with it, then extends into trust funding, the turning-18 checklist, and making sure well-meaning gifts from relatives don't cost your child benefits.
Virginia's ABLE program: ABLEnow
Virginia runs ABLEnow, one of the largest ABLE programs in the country, and Virginia taxpayers can deduct contributions on their state return (subject to annual limits). Virginia529's national reach means fees stay competitive, though we still compare it against other state programs before defaulting to the home team.
Written by Colin Meeks, CFP® · Registered to serve Virginia residents · Last updated August 6, 2026
The guides Virginia families use most
ABLE Accounts→
The $2,000 SSI resource limit puts families in a straitjacket: help your adult child save, and you can cost them their benefits. ABLE accounts exist to cut that knot.
Special Needs Trusts→
A trust is how grandparents leave an inheritance, how life insurance pays out, and how larger money supports your child for decades, all without touching benefit eligibility. It's also the document most families get drafted and then never actually fund.
Turning 18→
Nothing about your child changes on their 18th birthday. Everything about the rules does. Families who start at 16 or 17 walk through this calmly. Families who start at 18 spend a year untangling.
Common questions from Virginia families
No. We're registered to work with Virginia residents and meet over video, which most of our client families prefer regardless of geography. What matters is that your advisor knows special needs planning cold, not their ZIP code.
The first call works the same from Virginia.
Fifteen minutes, complimentary, over video or phone. Tell us your situation and we'll tell you honestly whether we can help.
Prefer the phone? Call 410-663-0700 and ask for Colin.