By: Susan M Graham, Attorney, CELA, Senior Edge Legal, Boise, Idaho
Twenty percent of adults below age 65 have disabilities, either developmental or physical, and almost 70% of the families of these special needs adults are worried about the future care for their disabled loved ones.[1]
Imagine that you are in your 70s and caring for a disabled adult child who is 50. The responsibility is huge and never ending. Who will watch out for that disabled adult when the parent(s) die?
What is the solution? Contact an estate planning attorney who can help create a plan that fits for that unique family situation. Create a formal written plan to provide for continued care and oversight once the parents are no longer able to help due to illness, old age or death. The parents are in the best position to identify who can help when they can’t. The parents should also plan to have a professional manage money for the disabled child, in a way that allows the child to continue to receive disability benefits, and protect the assets for that child’s entire lifetime. Once the plan is in place, the parents will have the “peace of mind” they have taken the steps necessary to protect their disabled child. “Worry” is not a plan.
