Chitra Staley, a longtime resident of Massachusetts and a Newton resident is a financial advisor at ‘The Program Works’, a company that she started 2 years ago after being a Portfolio Investment Manager for 24 years. Her work involves assisting individuals and families in managing their wealth and providing clients with guidance in philanthropy. Beyond her role in Wealth investments, she also works with individual clients in wealth estate planning, managing assets for individuals and families and intergenerational wealth issues.

 Tell us about your company ‘The Program Works’?

 We started this company 2 years ago with a focus on specialized clients providing them with high end services like managing family assets and offering financial advice. Most clients’ minimum asset size is around a million dollars.

 What are the areas of financial advice that you offer?

 Clients have their own individual needs and we work with them in areas such as  Retirement planning , Investment planning , Tax planning , Estate planning, Insurance planning ,  Integrated Planning and the like.

 What would be your advice for a family in terms of how they should invest/divide their assets?

 Although it is important to invest wisely, it is just as important to save and save early. The compounding effect of investment earnings can make a huge impact on the net worth of a family if they start to save in their early years. A good rule of thumb is 10% annually but, of course if they can save more, it is beneficial.

 Describe your approach to financial planning of families with special needs children?

 Planning for the future of your child or other dependent with special needs can be a complicated process. Parents should take basic steps to preserve eligibility for government benefits. They need to ensure that the child's assets don't exceed the federal limit, which would make the child ineligible for some government benefits. Funds above this amount could be placed in a special trust. I help these families make deliberate, conscious decisions to protect those who depend on them.

 Can you help us understand how disability benefits will not affect special needs trusts?

 The special needs trust is the only planning technique that allows families to preserve government benefit eligibility. If drafted correctly, special needs trust assets can only be used to supplement government benefits without losing them totally.  All families should have legal documents such as wills, trusts, and power of attorney and health care proxies. Plans must be undertaken to make certain that the trust is funded with assets to meet supplemental needs that provide for quality lifetime care and quality of life. The choice of guardian is critical to the future care and well-being of children with special needs, in case of any death or unexpected circumstances. Families need to give careful thought as to who will raise their child or manage money on their behalf.

 What do these trusts typically provide for?

 The special needs Trust can provide for support, health and maintenance of the beneficiary and is particularly important after the death of the parents. It is a vehicle whereby the needs of the “special needs” person can be met for their lifetime.

 Let us move to women and financial planning? How important it is for women to be financially savvy?

 I think all women need to be actively involved and take responsibility in financial issues. This is an endemic issue and is of a global nature. Studies have shown that women make financial decisions for the education and investment for their children. I would recommend a book that women can read .It is called "Money and Women-A practical guide to estate planning" by Patricia Annino, I have also recently presented a paper at a seminar for women and will be happy to share it with any of your readers. Your readers can also checkout the website http://wife.org.  More education is needed because what one is seeing is that there are new groups that now have something to invest that they perhaps didn't (in past years), and they have not necessarily been trained in their homes to do their investing. So is there a need? Yes."

 Share with us a story that made a difference for a family due to financial planning?

 Sure, I have so many stories. But since we are talking about women, I was approached by a couple, five years ago with two elementary school going children. The husband was savvy in investments but the wife was a stay at home mom and was not so involved with financial matters. She was however very interested and wanted to be in control of the financial decisions. So I met the couple and also the wife individually and started the process of educating her on all the various investments that they had. Part of the goal was to do just that so we talked abut UTMA Uniform Transfers to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts, setting up a trust for education etc, 529 plans for the children. Now after 5 years she is very comfortable managing the investments and is able to devote more time than her husband on making these decisions.

 You are also involved in community activities? Tell us more about that?

 It is very important to me to give back to the community since I have been so blessed in my own life. I am a board member of AASRA, an organization helping South Asian women in need. We are a young organization which has already positively impacted the lives of South Asian women, and we hope to continue to help other women at hard times in their life. I am also a board member of the Noyes Foundation, a New York based Foundation which works to protect communities from toxic waste dumping and to promote sustainable agriculture.

I have also acted as a resource for financial advice in the Massachusetts State Treasurer’s seminar for Women on financial education.

 What is the best way to contact you?

 I can be reached at my office by email or phone. I also meet with clients at their home since many prefer financial matters to be private. It can be flexible.

|