PROFESSIONAL PROFILE

Scott MacDonald is a First Vice President and Certified Special Needs Advisor. He has over 24 years of industry experience, joining Merrill Lynch in 1987. Mr. MacDonald has been featured in a variety of publications on serving clients with disabilities, including the Oakland Tribune and a cover story in On Wall Street Magazine. He was a special consultant of Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration through the California Continuing Education of the Bar and has lectured extensively for various Bar and Consumer Attorney Associations, the Special Needs Alliance, the National Guardianship Association and the Professional Fiduciary Association of California.

Scott has been extensively involved with many disability organizations, including the PRIDE Institute and Foundation, Downs Syndrome Institute, Autism Speaks, Society for Handicapped Children and Adults, Parents Helping Parents, Support for Families, Legal Assistance for Seniors, and the ARC of San Francisco.

Mr. MacDonald created the Fiduciary and Special Needs Group, a team of Financial Advisors across California who leverage specialized training in the field of disability planning and prudent probate investing. We focus on improving the financial well being of individuals of special need regardless of their age or disability. We advocate a collaborative approach to Wealth Management by drawing upon an extensive network of multi-disciplined professionals and advocates to help our clients attain financial success. We seek to promote understanding of the special needs community and to improve the self reliance of special needs persons, their families and caregivers.

Our team serves many fiduciaries across California. We provide a turnkey service for professional or family fiduciaries to promote the holistic well being of the trust beneficiary or conservatee. We are proficient in the specialized legal restrictions and court accounting procedures particular to fiduciary investing. We are well versed in the UPIA and California Probate Code.

Our team provides a full service solution for Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Awards. We provide financial planning, budgeting and coordination with specialized SNT attorneys, life care planners and benefits counselors. Structured Settlement solutions are provided in collaboration with our partners the EPS Settlements Group.

We provide customized financial planning and asset management for families with special needs loved ones, including; Special Needs Trusts, Pooled Special Needs Trusts, Conservatorships, Guardianships, Charitable Trusts, Generational Skipping Trusts and a variety of Family Trusts.

We provide a full suite of corporate trustee services through Merrill Lynch Trust Company (MLTC), one of the largest providers of trust services in the United States. MLTC can act as trustee or co-trustee to provide full trust administration and fiduciary investment management services.

Alternatively, we can provide professional or family trustees with a variety of agency services, including financial planning, principal and income accounting, bill payment, distribution and valuation assistance, charitable trust administrative services, fiduciary income tax preparation and fiduciary guidance.

Our Mission is to provide centralized access to financial and practical resources for clients with a wide variety of special needs. Distinctive specialized training and experience allow us to provide turnkey solutions for the singular needs of these special clients.

To learn more about how Merrill Lynch is helping to meet the financial needs of families of children with disabilities, visit the section of TotalMerrill.com