Estate planning for the fictional cookie-cutter family with three healthy children and two parents who were high school sweethearts who remained married throughout their lives is one thing. However, families are uniquely constructed these days and different situations will call for different courses of action.
With this in mind we would like to broach the subject of estate planning for families that have special needs members. According to the United States Census Bureau approximately 6% of children in the United States who are between five and 15 years of age have some type of disability.
In all, around 15% of Americans five years of age and older have a disability. So this is a family dynamic that touches just about everyone within a couple of degrees of separation.
Many people who have special needs rely on federal and state programs to provide much-needed assistance. As a result, you have to be very discerning with regard to how you provide for these individuals yourself when you are planning your estate.
Special needs trusts, sometimes called supplemental trusts, are commonly utilized to this end. They can be crafted to provide resources to enhance the quality of life of the beneficiary without impacting benefit eligibility.
If you would like to devise a comprehensive plan to provide for those that you love in a manner that is appropriate for each individual expert guidance is key. To get started, take action right now to arrange for an informative consultation with an experienced, savvy Hartford estate planning attorney.
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