When attorney Bernard Krooks met a client who is an investment banker at one of the top New York City brokerage houses, he noticed an estate planning oversight that would have made it difficult for the client’s disabled son to receive a lifetime of adequate and affordable medical care.

“During our discussions, it occurred to me that the ultimate beneficiaries of this client’s retirement plans were his children, one of whom is autistic,” says Mr Krooks, a partner at Littman Krooks LLP, a firm that specialises in estate planning and special needs planning as well as corporate and elder law.