Special needs financial planning is a topic most parents would like to ignore. But my research before writing Different Dream Parenting helped demystify the topic and convinced me of its importance. So when Friendship Circle of Michigan requested I become one of their guest bloggers, special needs financial planning was the first topic I tackled.

Financial Planning Tips

The article includes eleven tips divided into three categories. Here’s a brief rundown of what’s in the story:

How to Begin

1. Ask parents of older children.
2. Attend a support group.
3. Make an appointment with a lawyer to draw up a will.

What to Have in Place

1. Medical Power of Attorney
2. Property Power of Attorney
3. Last Will and Testament
4. A Special Needs Trust
5. A Letter of Intent

Where to Find Resources

1. DifferentDream.com guest blogger Kathy Guzzo’s series. She writes about medical and legal documents necessary for parents of adult children with medical conditions.
2. Merrill Lynch’s website.
3. Different Dream Parenting has an entire chapter about financial planning, including an extensive resource list at the end and advice from an attorney with extensive experience in the field.

You can read the entire article, The Special Needs Future is now! 11 Tips to Make Sure You Are Prepared at Friendship Circle of Michigan’s blog. It puts meat on the above bare bones list. Give yourself plenty of time to read the article and explore Friendship’s site. You’ll find one informative post after another about topics parents care about.

Have You Done Special Needs Financial Planning?

Have you done any financial planning for your child? If so, what did you learn? What advice do you have for parents who need to start the process? If not, what fears or lack of information are holding you back? What questions do you have? Leave your questions and comments below so we can learn from one another and start preparing for our kids’ financial futures.

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