Travis Finchum

Travis D. Finchum has been practicing law since 1996 and has been a Board Certified Elder Law attorney since 2002. He is the President and founder of the law firm Special Needs Lawyers, P.A. (www.specialneedslawyers.com)

Travis received his Bachelor’s of Science Degree and Law Degree from the University of Florida. He is the past chair of the Special Needs Trust Committee of the Florida Bar’s Elder Law Section and past chair of the Elder Law Board Certification Committee. In 2019 Travis was awarded the Elder Law Section Member of the Year award for his outstanding service.  He is currently the Treasurer of the Elder Law Section and Vice-Chair of their Legislative Committee.  He also currently serves as the Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate, Trust Law Section (RPPTL) – Elder Law Section Liaison and serves on the Executive Council as the Liaison for both Sections. Travis serves on the Advisory Board of  the Academy of Special Needs Planners, and is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys.

Travis has served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations that serve the frail, elderly and those with disabilities that focus on advocacy and local services for those with disabilities and mental illness.  He currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Arc Tampa Bay which serves hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through three day programs and seventeen residential settings, the Guardian Trust Foundation, Inc. which donates over one million annually to organizations that serve individuals with disabilities as well as running a number of pooled and individual Special Needs Trusts, and on the Advisory Board for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Pinellas County Chapter.

Mr. Finchum founded the Guardian Trusts in 2002 which assists individuals with disabilities in protecting their assets for use during their lifetimes without disqualifying them for much needed public benefits. (www.guardiantrusts.org).  Since 2002 Guardian Trusts have served over 4,000 individuals and has donated in excess of $10 Million to organizations that serve individuals with disabilities.

Mr. Finchum frequently speaks local and nationally on the topics of Medicaid qualification, Special Needs Trusts, estate planning, including planning for incapacity and nursing home care, protecting assets from creditors, sheltering assets for family members with disabilities and public assistance programs. His practice also consists of probate, trust administration (particularly special needs trusts), trust reformation and sophisticated estate planning strategies.

Mr. Finchum has been a resident of Pinellas County since 1977, where he lives with his wife Kiersten who is a registered nurse, and has a son and daughter, Ethan and Lillian.