Bringing Special Needs to the Forefront

Regardless of your political leanings, it is undeniable that the nomination of Sarah Palin as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate has brought the issues and concerns of parents of special needs children into the limelight.  Here at our office, we think that any media attention given to special needs families is for the better.

Most parents of a child with special needs know that they need to plan for that child’s future, but they don’t always know how.  Some think that their child will just have to rely on public benefits for the rest of his or her life, some mistakenly believe they can put money into a savings account for the child to use when the parents are gone, and worst of all, some parents will leave their estate to their special needs child as an inheritance.

All of these parents have the best intentions, but none of them are actually doing the best thing for their child. (The creation of a Special Needs Trust to provide for the expenses of the child while still preserving his or her public benefits is most often the best course of action.) Why is this?  It isn’t because the parents don’t care; it is because often they just aren’t informed.  Accurate information and caring guidance is not always easy for parents of special needs children to find.  Not only that, but these parents have much of their time taken up with more immediate tasks: the day-to-day care of a child with intensive and ongoing needs, working with school systems to ensure their child has fair treatment, keeping on top of government paperwork to get the resources they need to pay for necessary medical expenses.

We know these parents have a lot on their plates, which is why we want to help them in every way we can.  Call our office for legal guidance, referrals to qualified advisors, suggestions for further resources, or plain old-fashioned support.  Let us help you be informed and prepared.