How To Plan for Your Child’s Future With Disability

insurance news family planning

Any parent who has a child with a disability will tell you that parenting a child with special needs is no more difficult than parenting any other child. It’s just different. While most parents take for granted that one day their child is going to go off and find their own way in life, this is one of the key differences in raising children with disabilities. Nothing can be taken for granted. The parent must carefully plan for a future in which the parent is no longer there.

Your Child Will Need an Income

Disability comes in all shapes and sizes. What is right for one child won’t necessarily be right for another. Some children with disabilities will be able to enter into the work world as adults, but for others, they’ll need to rely on Supplemental Security Income from the federal government so their monetary needs can be met. However, SSI is a capped amount, and the full amount is barely enough to pay the rent in most parts of the United States.

It’s never too soon to start planning how your child will have access to funds as an adult. One way to ensure their needs are met in addition to having a modest entertainment budget is to set up a trust. Talk to your financial advisor about special needs trusts. These types of trusts are designed so that your child will still have access to government support in addition to what you have left behind.

insurance news family planning child with disability

Your Child Will Need a Home and a Caregiver

Parents have come up with many creative solutions to ensure their children remain in a comfortable living situation. A parent may opt to leave their home to their child on the condition that a room is rented out at a discount so long as the renter also oversees their adult child. They may also leave the home to the child and ask that siblings regularly drop in to make sure things are going okay. A group home is another option in which a caregiver is present, but the adults learn to take care of the majority of their daily duties on their own.

There is no perfect answer that fits every family. It’s never too early to start talking to other family members regarding what your wishes might be should something happen to you. The best thing to do is get everyone on board and get it in writing. A family lawyer can help you make sure your wishes will be followed through with once you are gone.

The alternative is to have no plan, and in that situation, the state may step in and decide where your child gets placed. For most parents, understandably, this is not a feasible solution.

When parents are young and their children are young, planning for the day they are no longer there may seem like something to do at a later date. Yet, when you’re raising a child with a disability, the time to start planning is as soon as possible.

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