Special Needs Planning—What you Should Know

As their children get older, parents start to stress over how they are going to pay for their children’s college but if you are parents of a special needs child, you are facing a more difficult and daunting task. These parents do not have to worry about a college education. They need to be sure they are going to be able to provide financial support and care for their special needs child after their death. This can be a complex question because no one can predict what their child’s medical needs will be in the future nor do they know how long they will live. To get help making sure their child is protected in the future the parents should make an appointment with an attorney who specializes in special needs planning Red Bank. The attorney can help the parents of a child with special needs ensure that the child will be taken care of after their deaths.

Letter of instruction

It is also called a “letter of intent” and describes the child’s situation. It will also provide instructions for the caregivers after the parent’s death or inability to care for the child. It will outline what you, as a parent, vision for the child’s life, how it could be, and the different things that affect the child. This can include how they communicate with you if they are non-verbal, what type of foods they like and do not like, etc. This is not a legal document but sometimes parents need help drafting it so this where special needs planning Toms River can help. Another letter to draft is to family members, asking them not to bequeath funds directly to the child. If the child is bequeathed money, they could lose their eligibility for Medicaid because they cannot have more than two thousand dollars in their name.

Special needs trust

Not all of their needs are covered by public benefits such as Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid so having a trust will make sure that money is available for additional expenses. This trust will not jeopardize their eligibility for the federal programs. When you talk to Special needs planning Red Bank attorney they can help set up one of the two special needs trust.

• First-party trusts—this trust is funded by the money the child received, like an inheritance. If the beneficiary of this trust dies the state can request Medicaid reimbursement from the funds that are still in the trust
• Third-party trust—this is funded by a life insurance from relatives or by a family member and do not require reimbursement.

These are just two of the many things that a special needs planning Toms River attorney can help you with.