Special Needs trusts are an important, but often overlooked, area of estate planning. As a parent, you work tirelessly every day to provide for your special needs child. But what happens after you pass away? Will your son or daughter have access to the money they require to keep a roof over their head and food in their pantry?
If you would like to ensure that your child continues to lead a happy and fulfilling life after your death, you might wish to sit down with a California estate planning attorney to create a financial safety net for them. Your lawyer can walk you through popular solutions, like:
Long-Term Care Insurance Policies
Will your child need someone to help them take care of their day-to-day activities after you pass away? If so, a long-term care insurance policy may be the perfect solution.
Insurance coverage of this nature can provide your son or daughter with the funds they need to hire a nurse or carer to help them when you are gone. Before selecting a policy, you should take a minute to consider which of the following types of care your child will require:
- Custodial Care: Help with simple tasks like bathing and preparing food.
- Intermittent Care: Weekly or monthly help with medical tasks like injecting medication.
- Skilled Care: Round-the-clock help with medical tasks like tube feedings and complex wound dressings.
This information should make it a little easier to find the right policy for your child. Of course, if you still need a little guidance, your San Diego estate planning lawyer should be able to assist.
Special Needs Trusts
Leaving money or property to your special needs child in a will could potentially interfere with their ability to obtain benefits like Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). However, this fact doesn’t mean that your son or daughter will be homeless and penniless after you pass away. There is another option – special needs trusts.
When you leave your assets to a special needs trust with your child named as a beneficiary, Medicaid and SSI administrators will ignore them when determining your loved one’s eligibility for benefits.
Of course, when setting up a special needs trust, it is vital that you select a responsible trustee. They will be the one who can use the funds to purchase your son or daughter the products and services they require.
Guardianship Designations
Do you have a financially stable friend or family member who would be happy to look after your special needs child after your death? If so, you may wish to fill out a guardianship designation document to ensure that your son or daughter ends up in their care when you are no longer around.
Taking this step is one of the most straightforward ways of making sure that your loved one will be well cared for – both financially and emotionally – for a long time to come.
A San Diego Lawyer You Can Count On
Would you like to have a California estate planning attorney from the Semanchik Law Group help you figure out the best way to create a special needs trust for your child? Then please do not hesitate to give us a call at (619) 535-1811. We are always available to assist our friends and neighbors in San Diego.
