Estate planning aids special needs children

Estate planning. It’s not something parents really want to do. You have to face your own mortality, and the fear that you might not live long enough for your children to become adults.

For parents of kids with special needs, they know their kids might outlive them and need a support system to handle everything from finances to personal care.

Last summer, Down Syndrome Association of Central Texas hosted a seminar for its parents with Justin Blumoff, a trust and estate attorney. Estate planning for families with someone with special needs has some of the same elements as families with neurotypical children. You still need to think about:

• A will

• A living trust

• Medical power of attorney

• Financial power of attorney

• Advance health care directive

• HIPAA authorization “One of the misconceptions is that (having a kid with special needs) really changes everything,” Blumoff said. “It really doesn’t.”

One thing is different: Parents of children with special needs do have to take care that their estate plan doesn’t disqualify their child from receiving government assistance like Social Security disability, Blumoff says.

Blumoff helps families set up a special needs trust that includes language that will let children still get aid.

“If you use a traditional plan, you may disqualify them,” he said. Housing is a particular concern as far as who inherits a house and what money can go toward the person’s housing.