F3 – An Overview of Pooled Trusts in California

Families of individuals with disabilities face critical choices about housing that ensures safety, stability, and a meaningful quality of life. This session equips fiduciaries, trustees, and planning professionals with a practical framework for designing, documenting, and administering long-term housing plans—whether the home is acquired during the parent’s lifetime or through a trust after their death.

Attendees will explore legal, financial, and practical considerations, including property selection, accessibility, safety, maintenance, funding, and integration with public benefits such as California’s Regional Center system, Supported Living Services, and IHSS. Real-world checklists from a contractor-trained REALTOR and guidance on court-supervised decisions will show fiduciaries how to safeguard trust assets, preserve benefits, and ensure sustainable, lifelong housing solutions for beneficiaries.

Speakers

Jim Wolverton

True Link Financial

Jim Wolverton is the Director of Fiduciary Education at True Link Financial. In this role, he is responsible for creating, curating, and promoting high-quality educational content to ensure fiduciaries have the knowledge and tools they need to effectively serve and protect their beneficiaries.

Jim earned his Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Utah State University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon. Prior to joining True Link, he owned and operated his own law firm and served as Director of Education at ElderCounsel and Krause Financial. These roles provided him with extensive experience educating attorneys and fiduciaries by helping them efficiently implement planning tools into their practices.

Jim is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP), and the Colorado, Utah, and Florida Bar Associations.

Based in Denver, Jim enjoys exploring the Rocky Mountains on foot, skis, bicycle or watching the clouds roll by while lying in a hammock next to a trout filled stream.

Michelle Wolf

JLA Trust

Michelle Wolf is the Founding Executive Director of JLA Trust and has nearly three decades of experience in the Jewish, nonprofit, and governmental sectors with a focus on social services and disability support. Before launching JLA Trust, she served as the Transitions Coordinator at Bet Tzedek, where she created a 42-member cross-agency coalition bridging the developmental disability and aging communities. She previously directed the Caring for Jews in Need department at the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles. Michelle also writes a monthly column for the Jewish Journal on disability and social service issues.

Stephen W. Dale, Esq., LLM, Trustee

Golden State Pooled Trust

https://www.gspt.org

Stephen W. Dale received his JD from Armstrong Law School and his LL.M. in Taxation from Golden Gate University. His law firm provides quality estate planning to clients with a special focus on the needs of persons with disabilities and their families.