Life Planning for Families of Special Needs is a specialized consultation firm dedicated exclusively to supporting families who have a loved one with special needs. Our mission is to help families navigate the complex and often overwhelming decisions that come with lifelong planning for a disabled individual. Our comprehensive planning services address the needs of today, tomorrow, and long into retirement, including the critical question of what happens when both parents are gone.

Guiding Principle:

What works for a typical family is often not appropriate, or even harmful for a family of special needs.

Our Core Consultation Areas:

A. Social Benefits Consultation

We help families understand how to find, qualify for, and most importantly maintain government benefits for their loved one with special needs. We explain how various benefits interact, including potential conflicts and limitations. The public benefits system is complex and often counterintuitive. We help you avoid costly mistakes that come from applying conventional logic or assumptions.

B. Creating a Life Plan

We guide families in designing a life plan that addresses the care, support, and wellbeing of the disabled individual. When the individual is unable to plan for themselves, we equip parents and guardians to build a long-term plan that extends well beyond their own lifetimes.

C. Planning for Lifetime Financial Support

Many individuals with disabilities are not competitive in the job market, making financial planning essential for lifelong care. We turn emotional goals into logical, finance-based projections to help determine what level of financial support will be needed and how to get there. We assist families in calculating lifetime care costs and creating strategies to meet those needs.

D. Estate Planning for Families of Special Needs

We discuss the key elements of estate planning tailored to families with disabled loved ones. We introduce and customize Special Needs Trusts, we hold proprietary access to 18 distinct types, allowing us to tailor the right one to your unique family situation.

E. Beneficiary Designation Guidance

Proper estate planning goes beyond a will or trust. We emphasize the critical importance of updating beneficiaries on retirement accounts, life insurance, and other financial instruments.

F. Transition Planning at Age 18

When your loved one turns 18, what’s next? We help you navigate entry into the SSI benefit system. We provide guidance on guardianship, when it’s appropriate, and when it may not be. We identify other adult-specific benefits that may become available.

Some of the concerns we help families address include the following:

• How do we find, qualify for and keep benefits for my child's life, even after I am gone?
• Who will do the things I do, when I am no longer able to provide needed supports?
• Where will my child live now and in the future?
• Do I need to leave money to support my child? How Much?
• Where will it come from? Where do I leave it? Who will manage it safely?
• What legal documents do I need to protect my child with special needs?
• Will my hopes, dreams and desires for my child happen?