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Financing Special Needs
Providing for Your Special Child's Future
By Teri Brown
Mike Byrne is a financial planner with Lincoln Financial Advisors. He, too, has a child with special needs. His daughter was born with Williams Syndrome, a mild form of mental retardation. This type of condition becomes more and more apparent in the middle school and high school years. 
"She will always need some sort of outside assistance and never be totally independent," says Byrne. "Financially, the costs in the early years are the same as for any child because of the public school system and extended school year offered by her special school. The real cost will come later in life."
It is that cost that parents must address when considering the financial planning for their special needs child.
"Depending on the needs of the child, the cost in later years could be like putting them through college for the rest of their life," says Byrne. "As parents with children of special needs, we need to take the proper steps to be sure [our] children continue to be eligible for government benefits later in life. Parents must continue to save regularly in order to provide additional financial assistance for quality-of-life items the special needs child requires."
According to Byrne, families must do everything they can to maximize all governmental benefits. To do this often requires the utilization of a special needs trust in order to protect the child's eligibility for benefits while still meeting the family's other needs.
"This planning is best accomplished by utilizing both the services of a financial planner and attorney, who have expertise in special needs planning," says Byrne. "The sooner you start the better, but it is essential to begin this process by age 14."
Byrne gives the following tips to start planning for the financial needs of your special needs child:
- Set up a special needs trust and inform family members.
- Never put any assets in the special needs child's name.
- Set up a funding mechanism (i.e. life insurance or investments) to provide for a special needs child after the parents are gone.
- Put a letter of intent in the child's file to explain to future caregivers the needs of the disabled child. This letter of intent should also contain documentation of the idiosyncrasies of these children, which make up a large part of their quality of life.
- Get connected with support groups in order to understand and access the various programs and benefits available for your child.