Special Needs Planning

It has been said that parents of disabled children lead chaotic lives. We know that from our own personal experiences. On top of that chaos, you live with the nagging concern over what will happen in your loved one’s life once you are no longer able to care for him or her. This concern is alleviated after you’ve created a professional special needs plan designed to fall into place to take care of your child when the time comes.

We work to help you acheive clarity during an overwhelming and difficult time by addressing your interests and needs for the future. And it's not just the future: a special needs plan plays an important role in the present-day daily life of the person living with special needs, as well as when primary care providers are no longer able to care for them. We strive to help answer all your questions and create a dynamic plan to help you and your loved ones live confidently.

If you don’t create a special needs plan, your state has one for you, and it is not what you want. Important decisions for your loved one with a disability should not be made by government agencies or courts who do not know you or your wishes. This can also result in the loss of crucial government benefits such as Social Security and Medicaid, which over the course of a lifetime can add up to a loss worth millions of dollars.

While it is never too late to begin special needs planning, it's also never too early. Together, we will cover details including:

• Lifestyle Preferences
• Potential Legal Issues
• Financial Security
• Access to Government Benefits
• Special Needs Trust
• Letter of Intent
• Guardianship & Conservatorship

While most special needs trusts are not fully funded until the parents or primary caregivers pass away, having it in place now permits you to design your financial strategy for that future time, and in the meantime family or friends who wish to give something to your loved one can do so in a way that will not jeopardize his or her government benefits.

Guardianship

Guardianship is a legal proceeding in which the probate court appoints a guardian or guardians to remain responsible for the care, custody and control of an adult unable to care for themselves on their own. You may be responsible for or care for someone who cannot independently make responsible decisions or perform the regular activities of daily living.

Our team will address the duties of a guardian, who can be a guardian and how one is appointed, as well as the process of becoming a guardian of another individual. This involves:

• Document Preparation
• Determination of the Degree of Incapacity
• Health Professional Reports
• And finally, the probate court's Owner of Guardianship

Whether you are currently a guardian or the possibility is on the horizon, we will discuss your needs and the ways in which we can assist you.

Estate Planning

As financial advisers, we work with you to address how to create and preserve personal wealth during your working years to plan for your retirement years. That’s what most financial advisers do. But for families who have a loved one living with a disability, we have to go much further than that. You face the question of how to transfer assets to a loved one living with a disability. It’s important to do this in a way that does not jeopardize their government benefits such as Social Security, Medicaid and related state and federal programs. Together, we can help ensure the stability and security of your accumulated wealth and ensure that you feel confident in the transfer details of your assets. Most other financial advisers, as well as estate planning lawyers, encounter special needs situations among a small percentage of their clientele. With us, it’s the vast majority of our clientele. It’s our specialty.

If you already have other professional tax and/or legal advisors, we are happy to work alongside and closely with them to develop an estate plan that incorporates your wishes and minimizes the associated transfer taxes. Our objective when developing a successful estate planning strategy is to incorporate:

• A thorough understanding of your goals and objectives.
• Efforts to ensure that you understand the options available to you.
• Proper execution of legal documents and paperwork.
• Communication between you, our team and any appropriate references.
• A discussion and executive summary of your plan.