Special Care Needs Planning

As parents of special needs children, you are in a situation that you neither created nor chose. Nevertheless, you have an awesome responsibility.

Most parents must provide for their children’s care and education until they reach maturity. Their basic responsibility ends there. You have to provide for care for your child’s lifetime.

We’re here for three important reasons:

♦ To share the vital information we have learned about securing the future of our children.

♦ To walk with you through the process of thinking through your goals for your child and the needs they may have- both today and far into the future.

♦ To help you set up a structure to meet those needs and goals.

That is why we’re here. We appreciate the time investment you have made. It is our desire that this time together will prove to be helpful and informative to you.

All parents, but particularly parents of children with disabilities, should have a Will. Your Will determines such essential matters as guardianship and the distribution of your assets.

There are basically four approaches for distributing assets for the benefit of your child:

♦ You can disinherit your child with a disability.

♦ You can leave your child an outright gift.

♦ You can leave a morally obligated gift to another child or relative.

♦ You can establish a Special Needs Trust for your child.

 Book a Phone CallBack Appointment now

Three important considerations:

What is a Special Needs Trust?

A typical Trust is designed to leave benefits to an individual or individuals. A Special Needs Trust is also set up for this purpose, but it is unique in that it is designed to leave benefits for the benefit of a disabled person, and to do this in a way which does not jeopardize the person’s present or future eligibility for government benefits (Medicaid, Supplemental Security Income, etc.)

Funding Special Needs Trusts

Special Needs Trusts can be funded in a number of ways. Parents may directly fund a portion of their estate for the benefit of the disabled individual. Some parents elect to create a separate Irrevocable Special Needs Trust which can be funded during their lifetimes. Other funding methods include annuities with designated maturity dates, and life insurance products which vest into the trust upon the death of the parent.

Administrating Special Needs Trusts

The choice of an administrator for the Special Needs Trust is an important one. Options for this responsibility range from a sibling, relative or friend to professional Trust Administrators utilized by banks and trust companies. A parent may hesitate to place the heavy responsibility of investing and managing the fund assets to a relative or friend. Practically speaking, the individual that you as parents would desire to be your child’s guardian or caregiver may not be the most qualified person to administer the trust.

On the other hand, while professional Trust Administrators make excellent investment advisors, they know little about care management issues. For this reason, many parents will utilize a professional Trust Administrator, and name a sibling, relative, or friend to serve as Co-Trustee, and the provide guidance regarding proper care management for disabled individual.

Three more important considerations:

♦ Guardian/Trustee(s)

♦ Irrevocable versus Revocable Trust

♦ Qualified Attorney

Discussing your wishes with family members is a critical part of the plan design process. The guardian and trustee(s) you choose for your child must be willing and able to accept.

The Letter of Intent can be compared to a letter you might leave for a babysitter, outlining where things are and what to do in case of an emergency.

What is a Letter of Intent?

The Letter of Intent is a document written by you that describes your child’s history, their current status, and what your hopes and dreams are for their future. It is not a legal document, but the courts and others rely upon the Letter for guidance in understanding your child and the wishes of you, the parents.

The Letter serves many purposes. First, it spells out the background and history of your child and his or her present situation. It also describes your wishes, hopes and desires for his or her future care and where possible, your child’s feelings about the present and desires for the future. Whenever possible, you should include your child in the process.

When you are no longer able to take care of your child due to death or illness, the Letter gives your son or daughter’s future caregivers some insight into how to care for him or her. If your child has a severe disability, precious time will not be wasted by the caregivers with regard to what is the most appropriate behavior or medical treatment techniques would be.

The Letter should describe very concrete information and much more, including valuable information about the personality of your child, his or her likes, dislikes, talents, special problems and strengths.