“Special Needs” – Special Planning
As I sit with clients I am put into different situations. One very special young adult was a new college graduate who has a 31- year-old brother with special needs. Their mother unexpectedly passed away with no life insurance and left this 25- year- old with over $400,000 in education debt and the responsibility of her brother. Can you imagine how stressful this is?
We all know what we should do. With that being said, why do we wait?
- I will do it later
- I don’t have the extra money
- I want a new car
- I am too short on time
- I don’t know who to talk to
It is important to talk to professionals who can help with your needs. Did you ever notice how easily we can dismiss taking a licensed professional’s advice because we take the emotional advice of a friend/ co-worker/ acquaintance whom we may be confiding in to clear our thoughts? It happens all the time.
Planning is crucial! Here are some key tidbits:
1) Setting up a Trust for the special- needs child / parent is a must. It can be done with a family attorney who understands your needs and the appropriate laws.
2) Having a life insurance policy is a must. This allows you to make sure funds will be available for your family when you’re gone. This policy needs to be put in the trust.
3) Setting up the beneficiary needs to be clear. Consider the special- needs family member and also the family members who will help in the care and needs of the loved one (s).
Sometimes two policies can be beneficial.
This is powerful. Life insurance is tax-free to the beneficiary (s). We will discuss this more next week.