Knowing that you must prepare for your child’s future is nothing new. Knowing how to properly plan for your child’s future when he or she is diagnosed with a disability is confusing and frustrating. The wait on Interest Lists for Medicaid Waiver Programs can be up to ten years. Once you finally start to receive benefits, you have to have a plan in place to maintain the benefits. That is where Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Act accounts (529A) can be fantastic resources for your estate planning.
Another planning consideration for parents of children with special needs is insurance. Life Insurance to truly cover expenses for of lives of your loved ones. Life Insurance should not just cover the “breadwinner” parent. In the event the care-giver parent dies, the family must hire others to continue to provide appropriate care for the child or children with special needs.
Unfortunately the insurance discussion does not end with life insurance. If the “breadwinner” parent becomes disabled, he or she may become underemployed or unemployed and disability insurance can help.
As a member of Heights Go Givers (HGG), I have had many opportunities to meet with professionals from the Heights and surrounding area on a weekly basis. Over the past few months I have had the pleasure of learning about the character and professionalism of Michelle Gessner of gessnerwealthstrategies.com. Substantively, Michelle has proven herself to be very knowledgeable, both in one-on-one discussions and as a speaker at conferences and meetings I have attended. If you are looking for a brilliant, compassionate, and disciplined advisor, contact Michelle.
