What Help will Your Exceptional Child Need in 6 Or 60 Years? (Special Needs Alliance: Special Needs Require Special Attorneys.‪)‬

Realistically assessing an exceptional child's future needs is a daunting task. Even when you overcome the enormous psychological hurdle of contemplating your vulnerable child's future without you in the picture, a welter of unknowns make rational long term planning nearly impossible. What government assistance will be available in the future? Where will your child live? What daily caregiver help will he need? Who will be her advocate? No one can answer these questions with certainty. But what special needs parents can do is study their own estate planning and retirement choices to determine how to make the best possible plans for their special child using the assets and options that they can control. Each plan will be different. This article describes two scenarios that illustrate important but not obvious special needs planning issues: 1) the cost of replacing you; and 2) how your retirement age can affect your child's disability benefits.