Divorce and the Special Needs Child

A divorce is multifaceted. Therefore, if you are able to move towards a collaborative divorce, it could provide the best alternative to look at all aspects of your life and divorce. Specifically, in addition to divorce attorneys, financial advisors, mental health professionals, you want to make sure an estate planning attorney is involved.

A Special Needs Child will still require the emotional and financial support of both parents, even more so after the divorce. You can handle the emotional side with the help of mental health professionals. A Special Needs Trust could serve to address handling financial needs. You do not want the divorce to affect any public benefits currently available to your child. A neutral party could serve as the trustee and make sure those supplemental needs that you might want for your child are addressed.

We can help you. Contact us a www.ythlaw.com for your estate planning, probate and elder law needs.

How should I plan for my special needs son?

Question:
How should I plan for my 22 year old son who has been disabled since birth?

Answer:
A “special needs trust” may be the best alternative.
The special needs trust is intended to supplement, rather than supplant, public assistance benefits that the disabled child may be entitled to receive under various programs such as Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) and Medical Assistance. The purpose of the special needs trust, therefore, is to make sure that monies available to a disabled child does not result in the loss of public benefits if that is an important issue for you and your son. A special needs trust may be set up by a third party such as a parent, grandparent or guardian or it may be set up with the funds of the disabled child. The latter situation generally involves a personal injury settlement where the accident was the cause of the disability and a settlement is made for the benefit of the child.

Critical Note:
Even though most trustees named under a special needs trust are corporate trustees, such as a financial institutions, if the trust is a modest size, typically less than $75,000 or only holds a home, a non-corporate trustee can be named. This includes a family member who may then seek the advice of a financial planner if they do not currently have that expertise.

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