Navigate unique circumstances
Special Needs Planning
Planning for two generations — encompassing both your lifetime and your child’s.
Families with unique life circumstances that need to provide for themselves and their dependents, and navigate the complicated world of long-term care and life planning. Special needs planning is planning for two generations; encompassing both your and your child’s lifetimes.
Many times, parents will have to find a balance between the competing goals of planning for their own financial future and planning for the lifetime needs of their child with a disability. At GVA Legacy, we deeply understand the special needs landscape — grant programs, housing needs, medical bills — as well as the traditional goals of financial planning.
The challenge
Attaining financial security and independence while coping with inflation, market volatility, and taxation is a challenge for anyone. For families with a dependent with disabilities that may require lifelong care, there are additional considerations. Families faced with providing supervision and care during their lifetime — and after their own death — must completely or at least partially fulfill the following functions:
Guardianship
Decision-making regarding medical, residential, educational, and physical welfare.
Financial support and management
Ongoing funding, investment, and cash-flow decisions for a lifetime of care.
Advocacy services
Enlisting help from agencies and integrating that support with the financial plan.
Living arrangements
At home, community-based alternatives, or group homes — planned in advance, not left to a court.
Caregivers should not have to do this alone
More than 43 million people in the US are caring for a family member with a special need, disability, or traumatic injury. Many of these individuals are also holding down full-time jobs. You don’t have to be wealthy or old to seriously consider the benefits of proper planning, including a legal will or trust. If you have a dependent with a disability, planning for guardianship is paramount. It is better for you to make these decisions than leave them to the court.
The process must ensure that the dependent receives a lifetime of adequate care and support, which usually means eligibility for governmental benefits. Given the hectic nature of day-to-day life, this can feel overwhelming. That is why families delegate some of the work to a qualified planner. Preparation is the key.
Ready to start the conversation?
There is no charge for the initial consultation. Let’s talk about the plan your family needs — for this generation and the next.