March 2021

As a parent of a child with special needs, you probably plan ahead all the time. Depending on your child’s needs, you may start every day with a plan to ensure things run smoothly. It is likely difficult for you to imagine how your child would survive without you to help him or her, but that is something you must think about for the welfare of your child. As soon as you know you have a special needs child, you should begin thinking about what will happen after your death. Think long-term It is essential as you begin special needs planning that you think long term. “KidsHealth” from Nemours explains that creating a special needs trust is one way to do that. Your child may receive benefits through many different programs such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Such programs work off of income and assets, so you have to be sure your child’s income and assets do not prevent him or her from receiving those benefits. A special needs trust will help with that, but you have to put one in place. Without a trust, your child may receive his or her inheritance in a way that would impact the eligibility for those programs. Think needs It is important that you consider your child’s needs today and in the future. Will he or she have limitations on his or her ability to make decisions? If not, you have to ensure there is a guardian in place who can provide the necessary care and oversight. You also should consider writing up a guide to caring for your child. A binder is helpful that contains all of the important information, such as medications, doctor’s phone numbers and other details, that will allow someone else to easily step into the daily care of your child.  If you fail to leave a plan in place, it will impact your child. So, it is never too early to get things in place.

When attempting to review your estate plan, you can easily feel overwhelmed or even lost. After all, it took you a long time to build the plan. Looking over it once every few years may feel like a daunting task. Fortunately, there are ways for you to streamline it and make it easier on yourself. You can start by knowing what areas of your estate plan to focus your attention on during an average review. Beneficiaries and important figures Forbes looks into which parts of your estate plan you may wish to prioritize. This counts primarily for the reviews experts suggest you do every three years. If you need to review your estate plan due to specific life changes, you do not need to follow these guidelines. First, you want to focus on key figures. This includes beneficiaries, your health care proxy and your power of attorney. Make sure you know who is on your life insurance policies. Go through all of your joint accounts and retirement fund. Now is the time to get rid of anyone you do not want inheriting your money. Your power of attorney and health care proxy are key figures, too. They will manage your end of life situation up until your death, at which point your will kicks in. Until then, they make financial and health decisions on your behalf. Thus, you want to trust them to make these crucial calls. Vital components to the plan  Speaking of, you also want to check vital parts of your estate plan like your will. Your trust also falls into this category. By examining the core components, you ensure your estate plan fulfills your needs without taking too long to look it over.

As the parent or close relative of a loved one with special needs, you have an array of factors to explore when creating an estate plan. Focusing on the long-term impact of your estate plan with respect to your loved one with special needs must remain a top priority. Fortunately, special needs trusts offer a variety of benefits for families that have a loved one with a disability. Before setting up a special needs trust, you must review the various advantages that come with taking this route and consider your other estate planning options. How do special needs trusts help the disabled? There are multiple ways in which special needs trusts support disabled individuals. Disability Rights Washington draws attention to multiple benefits associated with special needs trusts . These trusts do not interfere with a disabled family member’s ability to retain his or her ability to stay eligible for critical government benefits. In other instances, some people with special needs lose access to these benefits as a result of assets they acquire from a loved one’s estate plan. For example, if your loved one receives Medicaid or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a special needs trust could help prevent them from losing their eligibility. Special needs trusts also provide a system to manage money on behalf of a disabled individual. How should you approach the process of creating a trust? If you have determined that a special needs trust is the right move for your family, carefully go over the steps that come with this option. Moreover, it is often helpful to discuss these issues with other family members and your disabled loved one, if possible.

While many adults know that they need a long-term care plan, they may keep putting off the planning process. However, people should create a plan before they become seniors. According to CNBC, people should start planning for their long-term care while they are still in their 40s and 50s. People do not always know when they will need their care plan. An illness or a disability may require someone to use this plan earlier than expected. In this situation, people need all the elements of their care plan to be in place already. How much will long-term care cost? The cost of long-term care depends on the type of care people want to receive. One study reports that 96% of people would prefer to stay in their homes as they age, while 93% plan to reside in an assisted living facility. In 2017, hiring a home health aide cost $49,192 on average. Seniors paid $97,455 annually for their own room in a nursing home. Experts suggest that these expenses will be significantly higher by 2027. Many people may expect their health insurance and Medicare benefits to cover the cost of their care. However, they may need access to more resources. Some people may decide to invest in long-term care insurance to fill this gap. This protection may be most affordable if people purchase it when they are younger. If people create their care plan early, they can ensure that they have the necessary financial resources to afford their preferred care. What kind of care is available? People also need time to fully understand which resources are available to them. According to the Mayo Clinic, there are several different kinds of care that seniors might receive. Adults may live in retirement communities or receive care at home. What types of senior housing are available in their neighborhood? Which nursing homes provide high-quality care? What kind of care do people think they might need as they age? These are some of the questions people should consider. If people create their long-term care plan early, they can ensure that all the essential elements are in place long before they need them.

Unscrupulous individuals often prey on the elderly, and tax season provides an opportunity for them to do so. Understanding common tax scams can help you protect your parent from financial loss. Review these warnings from the IRS about scams to watch out for during this tax season. The unpaid tax scam Phishers use this robocall technique to demand wire transfers, prepaid debit cards and other forms of payment for “past-due taxes.” The recording typically threatens to cancel the person’s Social Security number unless he or she immediately pays the caller the specified amount. The IRS will contact a taxpayer through the mail if he or she has unpaid taxes. If your loved one thinks they have a tax bill to settle, they can contact the IRS directly and should not make any payments to a robocaller. The natural disaster scam With this method, callers solicit bogus donations after natural disasters and other tragic events. The IRS warns taxpayers to make sure that all charitable donations go to legitimate organizations. Your parent could lose his or her generous donation and the associated tax exemption. The fake tax preparer scam Make sure that your loved one chooses a reputable accountant if he or she needs tax preparation help. So-called ghost preparers may charge high fees to prepare tax returns without registering with the IRS as a paid preparer. They may divert the taxpayer’s refund into their own account, then disappear.  Remind your family member that the IRS will not text, email or contact them through social media. They should not give out personal information, especially financial details , in these types of messages or over the phone.