Dana Zimbleman of Colorado managed care for her mother, Iva Posey. for several years here in Alabama. She shared a detailed summary of her years of experience with Alabama Family Trust. Dana says, ” My family’s situation is probably a cautionary tale to others about what happens if you are middle class and do not plan adequately for the possibility that you may end up in custodial care during your final years.”
-Dana Zimbleman, Representative and Daughter of Iva Posey
Every day I’m so thankful to have the privilege to work with and FOR such wonderful people! I am truly humbled by the support and encouragement I am shown on a daily basis.
And it’s such a joy to be on the same team of so many amazing people all working towards the same goal. With your help, I will continue to provide those in need with the much needed services such as Alabama Family Trust and continue to fight for those who can’t remember.
-Stephanie Holmes, Dementia Friendly Alabama, Central Alabama Aging Consortium
At Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama we tell families to pack three things in their survival kit: respite care (because no caregiver can provide care alone); their sense of humor (which is easy to loose, but makes the journey lighter); and advanced planning. It is never too early to begin to explore what options a family has to finance their loved one’s long term care needs. Utilizing a special needs trust, such as Alabama Family Trust, gives families more flexibility and control over their loved one’s care. When families are stressed they tend to avoid advanced planning and decision making. Going ahead and seeking legal advice and making the decisions that will effect long term will actually bring comfort and peace of mind.
-Miller Piggott, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama
I am Tricia Kirk, Executive Director of The Exceptional Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1993 to serve mentally and physically challenged individuals in the Greater Birmingham, Alabama area by targeting social and recreational objectives not met by educational institutions or the community at large. The overall daily goals of The Exceptional Foundation are to enhance the lives of its participants through a variety of activities and to provide a community for the mentally challenged population and their families.
The Alabama Family Trust is another 501(c)(3) organization in Alabama which truly understands the needs of individuals with disabilities and is able to shelter and protect their assets in a special needs trust so that that person may maintain eligibility or achieve eligibility for core governmental benefits such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that may be available to him or her. The funds in the special needs trusts can then be used to supplement the government benefits and help improve their overall quality of life. The Alabama Family Trust also protects that person from financial exploitation or fraud from people that would otherwise abuse the individual with a disability.
I fully endorse the Alabama Family Trust to families with special needs individuals and personally know that my friend and their CFO, Doug Marshall brings both financial integrity expertise along with a great heart to everyone they serve. From being the former VP/Controller of Alagasco, CFO of United Ability, and caretaker of his aging in-laws with disabilities, he is part of something very special at the Alabama Family Trust – a family to individuals with disabilities and their own families.
-Tricia Kirk, Executive Director, The Exceptional Foundation
Alabama Family Trust is a fantastic organization that has impacted many families in the special needs community. The team is honest, trustworthy, operates with integrity and truly cares about the families they work with. The commitment Alabama Family Trust has to their clients is unmatched and yet they strive to continuously be better. It has been a privilege working with the team at Alabama Family Trust and I thank them for all they do for Alabama families.
-Brian J. Bateh,Partner
-Warren Averett, Former Chairman of the Board, United Ability
Alabama Family Trust is uniquely situated to help families with disAbilities in Alabama. Doug and Melanie are always willing to come to The Full Life Ahead Family Weekends to present and offer one-on-one assistance to our families. Many families are so busy with the day-to-day, 24/7, 365 day a year reality of their lives that they haven’t even given a thought to what lies ahead. Alabama Family Trust helps drive home the need for long-term planning.
We are blessed to have an organization so in touch with the needs of our state so close at hand!
-Judy Barclay, Founder, President Emeritus
-Tammy Moore, Executive Director, The Full Life Ahead Foundation
The financial investment opportunity through Alabama Family Trust’s special needs pooled trusts provides families with autistic individuals the peace of mind to know that their special needs loved ones will be taken care of through sound investing to ensure they have an excellent quality of life.
KultureCity, which is a Birmingham nonprofit that serves the autistic community, believes in the offerings of Alabama Family Trust so strongly we have partnered with them to share information about the trust options with our clients all over the country.
KultureCity isn’t focused on finding a cure for autism. We use funds to help autistic individuals realize their potential by providing tangible help and equipping businesses and the community to relate to children with autism and their families.
We fulfill the here-and-now needs for these children and their families, and we know resources are hard to find and limited. Introducing our families to services like Alabama Family Trust is part of our mission and, in this case, helps ensure families are on solid financial footing.
That allows us to do what we do best – run programs that help those with autism realize their potential and guarantee them a future that is not limited by their medical diagnosis.
We connect with the families personally. In turn, many of these families begin to play active roles within their local special needs community, extending their own support to other families. They can do that with more vigor when they are on solid financial ground, which Alabama Family Trust helps them achieve. Change comes one person at a time, and we are intent on changing the culture of autism acceptance and inclusion in our world today.
-Julian Maha, M.D., CEO and Founder, KultureCity
The Alabama Family Trust has done an excellent job in managing my nephew’s trust. He was born one month after my daughter in early 1991. In the spring of 1992, my aunt decided she wanted to help our children with their educational needs and donated money to trusts we set up for each child. I remember having discussions with my brother about the fact that my nephew’s needs were different than my daughter’s due to the fact he has Down Syndrome. My daughter’s trust would handle her college costs while my nephew would potentially need the money sooner and for a longer period than her.
In 1992 when our children’s trusts were set up, we could not find any charitable organizations that could help us with respect to my nephew’s trust. Then Alabama Family Trust came along in 1994, and my brother decided to place my nephew’s trust with them. This was the first trust that Alabama Family Trust managed. We have been very pleased with our decision and the results of having a special needs trust with them. He is now 25, and the trust has provided him with many things that he would not have possibly had. Alabama Family Trust has been able to improve his overall quality of life and fulfill all the needs regarding his trust.
I am a retired tax partner after working 30 years with PwC and in my career have worked with many charitable/nonprofit organizations. I am a past president of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Birmingham as well as Partners in Neighborhood Growth. My clients over the past 30 years have allowed me to see the operations of numerous organizations whose goals are to help medical research, youth, disadvantaged individuals and many other worthwhile causes. In my opinion Alabama Family Trust ranks up there with the best organizations that I have worked with.
They have personally helped my family through my nephew as well as numerous other families with special needs family members. I have known Doug Marshall throughout my whole career, and he is a very good leader, which Alabama Family Trust is fortunate to have as CFO.
-Kurt Hopper, Retired Partner – PwC
The process of applying for government assistance on behalf of a loved one with dementia can seem daunting and counter-intuitive (such as spending down assets or redirecting a portion of one’s fixed income). Throughout it all, the Alabama Family Trust has been there for us as a resource with actionable information for managing the funds needed to look after a loved one who is no longer capable of doing that. Whether making payments to the nursing home or just the phone bill, the Alabama Family Trust staff members have consistently gone above and beyond the minimum to demonstrate a unique and caring interest in our case even though there are literally countless others they are simultaneously assisting. Always there to help with friendly assistance, Alabama Family Trust has not only helped us to operationalize the management of our affairs so that we could spend more quality time with our loved ones. They have made us feel less alone and helpless in the process.
-Ginger H.
The Alabama Family Trust community came into our lives about two years ago when our Mom passed away. My sister, Ann, is 58 years old, has special needs and is completely disabled. She had saved some money through the efforts of our mother and the kindness of programs that allowed her to share her gifts as well as she was able. The Alabama Family Trust has enabled Ann to enjoy the fruits of her labor. Through the Trust, she is able to use these funds to enjoy a couple of days a week at The Exceptional Foundation as well as enjoy some activities which continue to make a huge difference in the quality of her life. This is a truly wonderful program!
-Frank Kimbell
I am a retired CPA with 27 years of experience in the field. Currently, I am serving as the primary caregiver for my mother. I am generally very skeptical about new processes, but I can say that I recommend Alabama Family Trust. The difficulties my mother and I are facing have certainly been made much better than they could have been as a result of Ms. Melanie Bradford Holliman’s guidance and through Alabama Family Trust. I have much praise for Shannon Brubaker at Alabama Family Trust, who was kind, efficient and forthcoming. She was also straightforward and timely, so I have no doubt that anything she says will happen within the context of what she can control.
Thank you for all do.
-Christine Long, Retired CPA