If you include someone with special needs among your loved ones, you are undoubtedly concerned about that person’s future. From both a practical and financial standpoint, the costs involved in caring for a special needs loved one are often high. To ensure that your special needs loved one continues to receive high quality care, it is imperative that you include special needs planning in your overall estate plan.
The good news is that by incorporating a special needs plan into your overall estate plan you can provide long-term supplemental care to your special needs loved one without affecting eligibility for federal and state assistance programs. This is commonly accomplished by creating a special needs trust.
Failing to create an effective estate plan subjects you and your loved ones to an uncertain future filled with unnecessary risks. The old adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” applies well to estate planning. Saving a few dollars now by not creating an estate plan will almost certainly cost your loved ones considerably more down the road.