While caring for a child with special needs can be uniquely gratifying, it also is generally fraught with daily worries and obstacles. Attending to unique health care and educational requirements is time consuming. Stigma and social challenges are frequent. It can be overwhelming. Thinking beyond the needs of the moment to advance special needs financial planning is often too much to even consider for many parents.
Yet, creating a financial plan that addresses your child’s needs today and in the future can go a long way in easing overall anxiety.
Creating a will and naming a guardian for minor children are important tasks for every parent. For parents of children with special needs, these tasks have even deeper financial and emotional factors to address. How might an inheritance affect your child’s government benefits? And, how do you prepare a potential guardian financially, intellectually and emotionally for the intense needs of your extraordinary child?
Perspective Financial provides special needs planning as part of our Core Client Services. Working with one of our advisors will help you address short- and long-term needs, as well as ascribe one more expert and ally to your child’s support team.
One of the most important steps to take is creating a special needs trust. This is where you can put money that you save, that others give your child as gifts, or that you receive from an insurance settlement without worrying it will interfere with your child’s eligibility for federal benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
Another critical planning aspect is building your cash savings. A harsh lesson parents of special needs kids quickly learn is that necessary treatments, therapies and accommodations aren’t always covered by insurance or readily provided by school systems. Budgeting for savings to cover such expenses or to hire an advocate to help you navigate the health care and educational systems can save you time, money and stress in the long run.