About Special Needs Planners
What We Do
Our firm, Special Needs Planners, provides individually crafted special needs planning services to parents and guardians of disabled children. While an array of financial and legal tools are available to parents, most attorneys and financial planners don’t, by and large, offer A-Z planning for parents. Special Needs Planners provides a comprehensive plan to parents, tailored to your individual needs.
How to Contact Us
Toll-Free: (877) 271-4282
Email: Mark@snplanning.com
Physical Address: 124 4th Ave. S., Suite 200, Kent, WA 98032
Mailing Address: PO Box 541, Kent, WA 98035
About Mark Albertson
Mark Albertson is an Estate Planning Attorney with over 21 years of experience. While Mark provides estate planning to a wide variety of clients, his passion is serving the legal needs of elder citizens, veterans and families with disabled children. With his comprehensive knowledge of the issues involved in planning for families with special needs children, Mark is able to offer parents and guardians the opportunity to share the planning burden with a compassionate professional.
Mark is CEO of Albertson Law Group, P.S., a 40 year old law firm with offices in Kent and Bellevue Washington.
Prior to becoming an attorney, Mark was a psychiatric social worker. It was his work with the mentally ill that led him to become an Attorney. Mark is General Counsel for the Washington State Pooled Charitable Trust and advises families nationwide on planning solutions when they have a disabled child. He is an active member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. Mark was recently recognized as one of Seattle Magazine’s “Best Personal Wealth Managers in the Seattle Area”.
Mark received his bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1982, and his Juris Doctorate Degree from St. Mary's University School of Law in 1987. Mark served honorably in both ,the United States Navy and the Texas Air National Guard.
Mark is a popular and entertaining speaker at leadership, continuing education and estate planning seminars, and has taught both professionals and lay people estate planning and special needs planning. He has taught seminars at Merrill Lynch, Ameriprise (formerly American Express) Financial Advisors, New York Life, State Farm, Charles Schwab, Smith Barney, Waddell and Reed and Lutheran Brotherhood Insurance. Mark has also spoken to groups such as the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, the South Puget Sound Estate Planning Council, the Institute for Management Accountants, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors the National Business Institute and the Washington Society of Enrolled Agents. Additionally, Mark has spoken to private and public employees of Boeing, IBM, the Bellevue School District, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Union Gospel Mission, the Washington State Dental Association and numerous community, civic and religious groups.
Mark is a member of the Washington State Bar Association; Oregon
State Bar; American Bar Association; Estate Planning Council of
Seattle; National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Society
of Settlement Planners.
Mark is a passionate community advocate, having served as Past President of the Rotary Club of Southcenter, Past President of the Board of Directors of the Highline Community Hospital Foundation, Past President of the Mediation Consortium of Washington State, former Board Member of the National Alliance for the Mental Ill and is a former Trustee of the Washington State Bar Association Young Lawyers Division. Mark currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Kent Downtown Partnership, the Board of Directors of the Kent Parks Foundation and is currently President of the Board of Directors of the Kent Chamber of Commerce.
An Important Note Regarding Our Services
Mark Albertson, through Special Needs Planners (SNP), provides two distinct services:
When Mark is providing planning services, he is not acting as an attorney and not legally representing the client. Mark provides planning services nationwide. Naturally, a part of a special needs plan is legal work, and Mark works with your attorney in your State to provide the proper legal work, but he is only acting as a consultant in this case. You need to seek independent legal counsel for any legal work that needs to be done as a result of Mark’s recommendations. Mark is happy to make a referral to a qualified attorney if you do not have one.
Mark does not provide financial planning. Instead, SNP provides a financial analysis of current finances, cash flow, savings and future asset needs, and provides an analysis of insurance needs. In order to implement any recommendations for investments or insurance, SNP works with your financial advisor to provide investment and/or insurance services. Mark is happy to make a referral to a qualified financial advisor if you do not have one.
Many of Mark’s clients in Washington and Oregon retain Mark for legal services also. These are two distinct services, and proper disclosures will be made and separate fee agreements signed in the event Mark is retained for legal work.
When Mark is providing legal services, Mark is legally representing the client. Prior to any representation, a written fee agreement will be provided.
Mark Albertson, J.D. is licensed to practice law only in Washington State