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Planning for Your Special Needs Child
Planning for Your Special Needs Child
Author: Amy Newman, Esq.
Buy Book: Amazon
If you are the parent of a special needs child, you already know that you face different challenges than other parents do. You must face health and planning issues early on, including who will care for your child when you’re not here.
That’s where this Real Life Legal™ guide comes in. Written by an attorney with firsthand experience raising a special needs child, you’ll learn the ins and outs of planning for your child’s future. If your child has special needs—whether autism, cerebral palsy, Down’s syndrome, spina bifida, ADHD or some other disability that may make him or her eligible for public assistance—it’s important to be proactive in planning for your child’s future.
Simple yet in-depth information is provided on:
- The importance of creating trusts to maintain eligibility for Medicaid.
- Obtaining guardianship of your child when he or she turns eighteen years of age.
- Understanding a Katie Beckett TEFRA wavier.
- Doing estate planning early to provide for a time when you can no longer care for your child.
Whether your child is two, twenty-two or forty-two, it is never too early or too late to start planning for a special needs child.
We cover that all here. And make it easy to understand.
Real Life Legal™ wants you to be prepared.
Amy Newman is a writer and attorney who has worked in trusts and estates and is the parent of a special needs child. She is licensed to practice law in Alaska and Illinois.
Table of Contents
What This Book’s About
What Does “Special Needs” Mean?
Not “One Size Fits All”
Special Needs Planning: Do I Need a Lawyer?
You Need a Lawyer for Estate Planning with a Special Needs Child
You Can Apply for Benefits and Public Assistance Without a Lawyer
Getting Needs-Based Public Assistance for Your Child
Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Income
Income and Resource Limits for SSI Eligibility
SSI & SSDI Disability Determination
An Adult Disabled Child’s Benefits Through a Parent’s Status
Applying for SSI & SSDI Benefits
Medicaid Benefits for a Special Needs Child
Medicaid Eligibility Based on Low Income
Medicaid Eligibility Based on Disability
TEFRA Medicaid State Plan Option/Katie Beckett Waiver
Home- and Community-Based Waivers
Applying for Medicaid
Medicaid Application Process
State Disability Determination
Level of Care Determination
Planning for the Future: Using Trusts
Using a Trust That Preserves Public Assistance
Self-Settled Trusts
Court-Approved Special Needs Trusts
Non-Court-Approved Special Needs Trusts
Pooled Income Trusts
Medicaid Payback Provisions
Third-Party Supplemental Needs Trust
Create an SNT (Not an SST) When Possible
Guardianship and Conservatorship of the Adult Disabled Child
Types of Guardianship
Becoming Your Adult Child’s Guardian or Conservator
Appointment Proceedings
Duties of a Guardian
Don’t Put Off Planning Your Estate
What Your Will Accomplishes
Establishing Trusts
Legacies to Special Needs Children Should Be Left in Trust for Them
Nomination of Guardian and Conservator for a Child Under Age Eighteen
Choosing a Guardian
Concluding Thoughts
Additional Resources
Glossary
About the Author
Real Life Legal™
