SEATTLE, WA / AGILITYPR.NEWS / March 09, 2026 / Streamlining the creation of customized strategies for families with special needs planning

EncorEstate Plans (Encore), the most comprehensive and customizable estate planning and trust funding solution for advisors, today announced the launch of its standalone special needs trust (SNT) offering. The new SNT offering — available as a standalone purchase later this year — enables financial advisors to facilitate the creation of fully customizable special needs trusts for their clients as part of Encore’s pay-as-you-go offerings.

With approximately 57 million Americans (nearly one in five) living with a disability, the need for proper special needs planning is significant and growing. Yet, research indicates that roughly 80% of families with special needs dependents have not established a SNT to preserve eligibility for critical government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid.

Until now, advisors seeking to address this gap have been forced to refer clients out to specialized attorneys at significant cost, or rely on rigid, generic templates that fail to account for each family’s unique circumstances — an approach that is neither comprehensive nor aligned with the goals of holistic financial planning.

“Advisors tell us all the time that special needs planning is one of the most important and most underserved areas in their practice,” said Matt Morris, CEO and Co-Founder of EncorEstate Plans. “By offering a standalone special needs trust, we’re removing the barriers that have prevented advisors from serving these families directly. We believe it will fundamentally change how advisors approach truly comprehensive financial planning for clients with special needs dependents.”

TRULY COMPREHENSIVE AND CUSTOMIZABLE SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING

Encore’s special needs trust offering is designed to address the full spectrum of special needs planning scenarios advisors encounter. The SNT supports both third-party special needs trusts (funded by parents, grandparents, or other family members) and first-party special needs trusts, which are funded with the disabled individual’s own assets, such as an inheritance or legal settlement. This flexibility allows advisors to serve clients across a wide range of situations, from parents planning for a child with Down syndrome or autism to adults managing assets for a family member who became disabled later in life.

Critically, Encore’s SNT is not a one-size-fits-all template. Each state has variations based on its particular set of laws. Encore enables advisors and their clients to tailor various aspects of the SNT to the beneficiary’s specific needs and the ultimate desires to provide for other family members upon the death of the initial beneficiary. All of this is being done while preserving eligibility for needs-based programs like SSI and Medicaid.

“Special needs trusts are among the most basic irrevocable and non-controversial estate planning documents. They have one overriding purpose – allowing the beneficiary to live a better version of their life with resources that will supplement any state or federal needs-based public benefit,” said Mike Bennett, COO, Co-Founder, and Head of Estate Planning at EncorEstate Plans. “Our platform combines the deep legal expertise of our estate planning team with technology that makes this accessible to every advisor. The result is a special needs trust that is tailored to each client’s family and helps limit risk exposure to families.”

STANDALONE ACCESS REMOVES BARRIERS FOR ADVISORS

As part of Encore’s comprehensive back-office estate planning platform, the new SNT offering will be available as a standalone purchase. This means advisors can facilitate the creation of an SNT for their clients on a case-by-case basis without committing to a platform subscription — significantly lowering the barrier to entry and making it practical for any advisor to serve clients with special needs planning requirements.

The standalone SNT offering is available now in a Beta version and will be available within the software later this year. Advisors interested in learning more or joining the waitlist can visit www.EncorEstatePlans.com.

ABOUT ENCORESTATE PLANS

EncorEstate Plans is the #1 estate planning software for RIAs by market share according to the 2025 Kitces AdvisorTech Survey. Founded in 2021 and headquartered in Seattle, EncorEstate Plans is the most comprehensive and customizable estate planning and trust funding platform for advisors. The company’s technology and industry-leading support team empower advisors to efficiently facilitate the creation, updating, and funding of estate plans, all under the advisor’s brand.

All of this is reflected in EncorEstate Plans having the lowest customer churn (<1%) and highest momentum (11%) in the last 12 months according to the latest Kitces AdvisorTech Survey. The Encore platform has been named an “All Star” for the second consecutive year by the 2025 T3/Inside Information Software Survey, earning the highest average user rating (8.47 out of 10).

Encore has been consistently recognized by industry analysts and customers for its focus on leveraging its human estate planners, paralegals, and attorneys to be advisors’ estate planning back office, and placing value on higher service touch over pure technology solutions. Advisors who want white glove service, high-touch estate planning software should use EncorEstate Plans and its human estate planner review and unlimited support that comes at no cost. For more information, visit www.EncorEstatePlans.com.