Wispact Update 2026

  • Webcast seminar
  • OnDemand seminar
  • Course manual (PDF)
  • Course manual (PDF) and Audio (MP3)
  • MP3
  • Attorney Regulation
  • Elder Law
Up to 6.0 Credit Hours
View schedule and faculty
Wispact Update 2026

Co-produced by Wispact and the Elder Law and Special Needs Section of the State Bar of Wisconsin

Advice they can trust

When public benefits, trusts, and family dynamics intersect, small details matter. Wispact Update 2026 tackles the real planning and advising challenges that arise when advising aging clients, individuals with special needs, and their families. You’ll receive essential updates, practical guidance, and proven approaches that help you protect client resources while preserving eligibility for public benefits.

Experienced practitioners cover everything from recent decisions and policy developments to the day-to-day judgment calls that determine whether a trust functions as intended.

8:30 am
Welcome and Overview of Wispact

Kevin Hayde

8:45 am
Unique Assets and the Wispact Unique Asset Policy

Peter J Wall, Kevin Hayde

  • Purpose of pooled special needs trusts (PSNTs)
  • Preservation of assets and public benefits
  • Compliance with Medicaid, SSI, and related regulations
  • Collaboration with beneficiaries, families, attorneys, and advisors
  • Evaluation, valuation, and risk assessment of unique assets
  • Trustee responsibilities and management challenges
9:35 am
Fair Hearing Decisions & Case Law Update

Alicia Ratajczak, Benjamin Scott Wright

  • Notable fair hearing decisions from the past year
  • Recent case law developments and MEH updates
10:25 am
Break
10:40 am
ABLE Accounts: Basics and Updates

Peter J Wall

  • Overview of ABLE accounts in special needs planning
  • Eligibility requirements and qualified beneficiaries
  • Program benefits, limitations, and compliance issues
  • Recent ABLE account updates
  • Practical use of ABLE funds to enhance quality of life
  • Coordination with special needs trusts and trustee strategies
11:30 am
Wispact Processes & Best Practices

Emily Klunick, Lindsey Schilling, Kristi L. Papez

  • Handling difficult distributions
  • Common application errors
12:20 pm
Lunch (On your own)
1:20 pm
Rethinking Capacity and Consent: Supported Decision-Making in practice-One Family’s Journey Beyond Guardianship

Mary Ceretti

  • Supported Decision-Making as an alternative to guardianship
  • Longitudinal family case study
  • Capacity development through experience and risk-taking
  • Long-term outcomes beyond representation
  • Expansion of self-determination over time
2:15 pm
Break
2:30 pm
Ethics

Bridget M. Erwin, Hamza Jaka

  • Capacity to create a first-party Wispact Trust – what’s required for capacity and what do we do when a prospective client has a guardian of the person but no guardian of the estate: SCR 20:1.14 – Client with Diminished Capacity
  • Confidentiality and navigating multiple client relationships when a third-party Wispact Trust for a disabled individual dovetails into a first-party Wispact Trust for that same individual who has capacity: SCR 20:1.7 – Conflict of Interest Current Clients, SCR 20:1.6 – Confidentiality
  • Communication challenges and accommodations – what’s expected of us as attorneys? SCR:1.4 – Communication
3:20 pm
Program Concludes

Program Chairs

Jon Fischer
McCarty Law LLP · Appleton
KC Watson
Wispact, Inc. · Madison

Program Chairs & Presenters

Kevin Hayde
Wispact, Inc. · Madison
Kristi L. Papez
Wispact, Inc. · Madison

Presenters

8 total
Mary Ceretti
Disability Rights Wisconsin · Milwaukee
Bridget M. Erwin
Hager Dewick & Zuengler, S.C. · Green Bay
Hamza Jaka
Gardiner Koch Wesberg & Wrona · Lake Geneva
Emily Klunick
Wispact, Inc. · Madison
Alicia Ratajczak
McCarty Law LLP · Appleton
Lindsey Schilling
Wispact, Inc. · Madison
Peter J. Wall
True Link Financial Advisors, LLC · Denver, CO
Benjamin Scott Wright
Wright Elder Law · New Richmond

Sponsored by

Interested in sponsoring this program? Find out more.

  • Identify potential red flags related to assets, capacity, and family roles before they complicate plans
  • Make more confident calls when clients propose funding trusts with complex or unusual property
  • Avoid common application and distribution errors by implementing Wispact best practices and guidance on processes
  • Provide more nuanced advice when clients ask whether a pooled trust, an ABLE account, or both are appropriate for their situation
  • Recognize when supported decision-making may help preserve autonomy without sacrificing protection
  • Spot and address ethics issues in cases where capacity, guardians, and multiple interested parties are involved
  • Position yourself as an attorney who understands not just the rules, but how the system works in practice
  • Elder law practitioners
  • Adult guardians ad litem
  • Estate planning and probate lawyers
  • Family lawyers
  • General practitioners

Book Bonus!

Advising Older Clients & Their Families – 2 Volume Set
Save 15% on the Advising Older Clients & Their Families – 2 Volume Set.* In it, you’ll find the practice pointers, tips, charts, forms, and other tools to help you build and maintain a successful elder law practice. Use discount code CA3950 when you order online or by calling (800) 728-7788.

*Discount applies to both print and digital Books Unbound editions of this title and cannot be applied to previous purchases. Offer valid through 12/31/27. For Books Unbound users, discount may be applied to purchase of individual Books Unbound title only and may not be used on the purchase of libraries. Discount cannot be combined with any other offers.