SHIELD SPECIAL NEEDS PLANNING

🛡️ Shield Special Needs Planning — Privacy Policy In Plain English

At Shield Special Needs Planning, we take privacy seriously.

We believe your personal information should stay personal.

We’d rather sell our business than sell your data.

🔹 1. What This Policy Covers

This page explains what information we collect, how we use it, how we protect it, and your rights under data privacy laws.

It’s written in human language so you don’t need a law degree to understand it.

🔹 2. What We Collect (and What We Don’t)

We collect just enough information to communicate and serve you:

Your name, email, or phone number (if you reach out).
Anything you voluntarily share with us through a form, workshop signup, or email.

We don’t collect unnecessary tracking data, creepy location info, or third-party cookies that follow you around the internet like a lost puppy.

🔹 3. Why We Collect It

We use your information only to:

Reply to your inquiries or schedule meetings.
Send requested materials or updates (only if you’ve opted in).
Improve our website and services in general terms — not in “sell-your-data-to-advertisers” terms.

If you ever get something from us that feels like spam, let us know immediately. We’ll fix it faster than you can say “unsubscribe.”

🔹 4. How We Protect It

We keep your information secure using encrypted systems and restricted access.

We don’t share it outside Shield unless:

You’ve given us clear permission;
A trusted service provider (like secure email or scheduling software) needs limited access to help us serve you; or
The law absolutely forces us to.

We also delete information when it’s no longer needed — because clutter isn’t just annoying, it’s risky.

🔹 5. What We Never Do

We never:

Sell, rent, trade, or “monetize” your personal data.
Partner with advertisers or social media tracking services.
Collect data just because “everyone else does.”

🔹 6. Your Rights

You always have the right to:

See what information we have about you.
Ask us to correct or delete it.
Opt out of communications anytime.

To do any of that, email [email protected]—we’ll handle it personally, not via an automated maze of forms.

🔹 7. Third-Party Links

Our site occasionally links to other trusted resources. We’re not responsible for their privacy practices, but we only link to sites we’d be comfortable using ourselves.

🔹 8. Legal Fine Print (Because We Must)

We comply with all relevant data protection regulations (including CCPA and GDPR principles where applicable).

We retain personal data only as long as necessary to provide services or comply with legal obligations.

Updates to this policy will be posted here with a new effective date: January 1, 2025

🔹 9. Questions?

Reach out anytime:

Shield Special Needs Planning

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 213-709-4060

Website: https://shieldsnp.com

🔹 10. Final Word

We protect families for a living. Your information deserves the same respect.

If we ever betray that trust, hold us accountable — because transparency is the only real privacy policy that matters.

Planning starts with clarity about who can act, what they can do, and how your loved one’s resources are protected. When a child turns 18, parents no longer have automatic authority to make decisions on their child’s behalf. Some families use supported decision making with Powers of Attorney (medical and financial) and an Advance Health Care Directive so trusted supporters can help. In other situations, a limited conservatorship/guardianship may be appropriate. The right option depends on your loved one’s abilities and preferences, and on state rules (in California, for example, guardianship is for minors and conservatorship is for adults).

Next comes your estate plan. A Will names guardians for minors and expresses your wishes, but a Will alone goes through probate, which can be costly and tie up assets for years. Worst of all a will can unintentionally direct assets to your loved one—jeopardizing benefits. Pairing your Will with a Living Revocable Trust keeps affairs private, names successor trustees, and avoids probate. Crucially, your plan should include protective language so no assets pass directly to your loved one; instead, anything intended for them is routed to a Special Needs Trust.

A 3rd party, stand alone, irrevocable Special Needs Trust (SNT) is the gold standard for preserving benefits while providing supplemental quality of life support. It can be funded by family during life and at death (including through life insurance and beneficiary designations), managed by trustees you choose, and—when properly drafted—keeps trust assets from being counted against eligibility.