Here's What A Life Planner Can Do For Your Parent With Special Needs

Law Blog

Taking care of a parent with special needs means planning for their future. Here's how a special needs life planner can help you do just that:

Benefit Preservation

As your parent ages, they'll likely rely more and more on their Social Security and other government benefits. And some decisions that are made during the life planning process could endanger those benefits as time goes on. For instance, some assets that your parent acquires throughout the years may render them disqualified for SSI benefits and other programs. Having more than a certain amount of cash assets may reduce the benefit amounts your parent receives, too.

But luckily, you can count on a special needs life planner to protect your parent's assets so they don't count against them when the government determines whether they qualify for specific types of benefits as they age. They'll help ensure that your parent's benefits are preserved in the coming years which should give you and your parent some extra peace of mind.

Guardianship Planning

As your parent gets older, they may not have the capacity to make important financial and health decisions for themselves any longer, and you or another responsible party might have to step in as their guardian. In this case, a special needs financial planner can get the ball rolling and make sure that all the right steps are taken to legally appoint someone else as your parent's guardian.

They'll also help the new guardian plan for future financial responsibilities and ensure that a clear long-term healthcare plan that's in the best interest of your parent is in place. A life planner can even help settle any guardianship disputes that might come in to play later in the future.

Trust Management

Creating and managing a special needs trust for your parent is essential. Managing a special needs trust for your parent is an excellent way to make sure that enough money is earmarked for future healthcare and lifestyle needs. This way the assets in your parent's trust won't count toward the income restrictions they face to qualify for many government benefit programs. So no matter how much the trust is worth, it won't be considered when SSI benefit amounts are determined.

A special needs trust will protect your parent's assets from creditors and ensure that those assets are distributed as intended upon their death. A life planner will work with you and your parent to set a reliable trust up and to manage the trust until it is dissolved.

Get in contact with a special needs planning professional at a company like Life's Plan Inc to start the process. 

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26 December 2019

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