The Estate Planning Law Group

Visit to CoACH Care Center In Naperville, IL

So much has happened in the last month! To start things off, I attended the annual Day One Network fundraiser in St. Charles. Day One Network is one of the primary service providers for people who have disabilities in Kane County. They are a private, nonprofit, community-based agency that does service coordination and advocacy services to children and adults with developmental delays or disabilities. It has more than 3,000 clients in Kane and Kendall counties. When they started in 1989, the agency served 300 clients. You can find out more about the organization and event here.

I haven't done so yet, but I plan to profile Day One Network in the SNAP magazine sometime soon. I want to make sure that everyone who could benefit from their organization knows what services they offer. Keep your eyes open for the profile!

At the event, I was lucky enough to snag a gift basket with champagne, chocolate, macadamia nuts and a coupon for a free night at a hotel in Naperville. Now if we can only find a babysitter . . . !  I also tried to bid on a stay in Scottsdale, AZ, because my Dad lives close by, but I was quickly outbid. I guess Naperville will have to do!

Soon after the fundraiser, we were lucky enough to be able to get away to San Francisco/Monterey/San Jose for spring break. The last weekend there, we attended the Bar Mitzvah of a good friend's son in San Jose. The whole weekend was a lot of fun - particularly so because the host and his son are both professional comedians. Watch this video of Josh Applebaum, the 13-year old honoree, perform in front of Robin Williams! You can hear Robin Williams laughing in the audience. Very distinctive laugh!

Last Thursday, I held a presentation at Nathan Hale Elementary School in Schaumburg for a group of parents who have children with autism. They gave me such a kind reception; I am so grateful for their generosity. Afterwards, more than half of the parents who attended requested a planning session to discuss estate planning! I am always gratified when I can help motivate parents to take charge of their child's future.

If your parent group or other organization would like to schedule a presentation, please go ahead and call Gloria at 630-871-8778 to discuss or go to http://www.teplg.com/SpecialNeedsPresentationRequest.

Finally, I met with Monika Pandya at CoACH Care Center in Naperville, IL this past week. This month's feature article is all about the loving service they provide to medically fragile kids transitioning from hospital to home. Their name is changing soon from CoACH Care Center to Almost Home Kids™.

Hope you enjoy learning about this fabulous resource in the Naperville, IL community!

2009 (c) The Estate Planning Law Group.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: “2009 ©The Estate Planning Law Group. Written and edited by Kirsten Izatt. Kirsten’s mission is to ensure that the parents of children with special needs have the information and resources they need to build a fortress of protection around their child that will last a lifetime. Get her revealing, enlightening, and sometimes even humorous “SNAP” e-zine at www.SpecialNeedsAllianceProject.com.”

Getting Divorced? Vital Info About Your Estate Plan

If you've already got an estate plan in place and you are going through a divorce, you've got some steps to take because no matter how you cut it, divorce has a major impact on your estate plan. I hate to tell you that because I know that the last thing you want to think about in the middle of your divorce is your estate planning and yet, it's critically important unless you want your ex to end up with control over all of your assets if anything happens to you.

Yep, that's what could happen if you don't address your estate planning as part of your divorce ... your ex could end up with everything or at the very least in control of everything.

For most people going through a divorce, this is the last thing they want. It certainly was for me!

To make sure this doesn't happen, you need to revamp your estate plan and create a new Will, Trust, Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives during your divorce and not wait until afterwards.

Revamp Your Estate Plan During Your Divorce Or Your Ex Could Get Everything (including control of your medical decisions!)

Here's the truth: if you are in an accident during your divorce, it's your soon to be ex who will be making your health care decisions, who will be in control of your money, and will inherit everything if you die unless you have new documents drafted.

Your estate planning lawyer should be one of the first calls you make when you file for divorce.

Unless the court restricts your ability to do so, while your divorce is pending, your estate planning lawyer can prepare a divorce Will (a temporary Will that ensures your soon to be ex won't inherit from you if you die), create a new Trust to receive the assets that you will receive after the divorce is final and update your health care directives and powers of attorney. One thing to be careful of though is not to move any of your assets into your new Trust until after your divorce is final or until your divorce lawyer gives you the go-ahead.

Once the divorce is final and you know which assets you are receiving, you should then revisit your estate planning lawyer and get a new plan in place that will be established to cover what you have been given as part of the divorce and help you plan for your financial future.

Change Your Beneficiary Designations

You also want to make sure to review all of your beneficiary designations after your divorce. This is absolutely critical and often overlooked. And, you need to do it even if your divorce agreement says your ex won't receive any benefits. If you don't change your beneficiary designations, your agreement may be superseded!

There's actually a case pending in the United States Supreme Court right now about this very thing. Husband and wife got divorced and husband never changed his beneficiary designation on his pension account. Then, Husband died. The pension administrator paid the benefits to his ex-wife, as indicated by the beneficiary designation. Husband's daughter from a prior marriage sued for the benefits claiming that the ex-wife had given up her rights to the pension in the divorce agreement. The first Court heard the case and agreed. The appeals Court heard the case and disagreed, saying that the beneficiary designation trumped the divorce agreement. Now, the final answer will come from the Supreme Court.

You don't want to put your family through this. So update your beneficiary designations.

Review Your Life Insurance Provisions.

If you have any kind of a requirement in your marital settlement agreement that life insurance should be maintained on the life of either spouse for the benefit of the children, you should have this provision reviewed by your estate planning lawyer.

We've seen so many provisions like this that are just not well thought out. For example, a provision that says "Husband shall maintain life insurance having an aggregate death benefit of $250,000 for the benefit of the minor children" sounds great, right? But, this is just the kind of provision that provides no protection for the minor children at all.

How long does the insurance have to be maintained? What type of insurance has to be used?

Can Husband just get a cheap one year term policy that needs to be renewed each year?

What if he gets ill and becomes uninsurable? Who should be the beneficiary of the policy?

An effective provision should provide the type of insurance and the minimum length of time it must be in force, specific ratings requirements for the insurance company and whether the policy should be in trust or payable to a trust. Your estate planning lawyer can help to identify these issues where even a very good divorce lawyer may overlook them.

Bottom line ... your divorce has real, meaningful implications for your estate plan. I know it's not something you want to think about and yet if you don't, you and your family could end up very, very sorry you didn't..

© 2008-2009 Alexis Martin Neely

Written by Alexis Martin Neely, mom, writer, speaker and Personal Family Lawyer®. Alexis makes it super easy for your family to talk about and plan for sticky subjects like money, death and taxes.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes saying, for example, "Written by.." with the author's name.

© 2009 The Estate Planning Law Group.

Bill and Kirsten's mission is to make the world a better place by providing a lifetime of ongoing guidance and counsel to people who want to make the very best decisions about how to plan for and protect their families through estate planning. Get their revealing, enlightening, and sometimes humorous "Family Wealth Builder" e-zine at www.FamilyWealthBuilderNewsletter.com.

Disability Savings Accounts. Are They All They're Cracked Up to Be?

Making sure your child with a disability has adequate financial resources throughout his or her entire life is tough.  If you have a child with special needs, you know that there are a broad array of expenses associated with any disability. There is no easy solution, but a recent bill introduced in both houses of the U.S. Congress on February 26, 2009 might provide some relief.

The new bill would create tax-free Disability Savings accounts to help families save for the long-term needs of their disabled family members. In the House of Representatives, the new bill is sponsored by Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-Fla) and has 32 sponsors. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-Pa) introduced the bill in the Senate.

Before the bill would become law, it must pass both houses of Congress and be signed by the President.

Is the ABLE Act of 2009 all it’s cracked up to be?

Not exactly, so let me explain.

I’ve read the proposed legislation (while my son was at his weekly YMCA swimming class!), and here are the main provisions:

1) The purpose is two old—to encourage people to save for the purpose of supporting individuals with disabilities and to allow individuals with disabilities to have a tax free savings accounts that won’t disqualify them from government benefits (e.g. Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI));

2) The beneficiary must be eligible to receive SSI benefits due to blindness or disability;

3) The investments in the ABLE account may be used to supplement but not supplant benefits provided through private insurance, the Medicaid program, and SSI;

4) Contributions to the account must be in cash (i.e. it can’t hold a house, business, or other non cash asset);

5) Total contributions may not exceed $ 500,000 indexed to a cost of living adjustment; and

6) A bank, the beneficiary, parent or guardian, or a third-party appointed by the beneficiary, parent, or guardian may serve as Trustee.

Sounds great? It is, but here’s the kicker, there is a payback provision included in the proposed legislation!

The payback provision is significant because it means is that upon the death of the beneficiary, funds remaining in the Trust must be “paid back” to state Medicaid officials for any payments made to the beneficiary by Medicaid for medical assistance.

There are some limited exceptions to the payback requirement. For example, if you name another person who is disabled as the beneficiary of the ABLE account, the payback won’t kick in.

For some families, this payback provision will be OK, but I think if the payback provision becomes law, it is going to be a deal killer for many parents who would otherwise start saving money in such an account.

For example, imagine your child is born with Down Syndrome. You know from a very young age that your child is going to qualify for disability benefits as an adult.

You start an ABLE account, and you put away money every month for your child. At age 18, your child immediately qualifies for government assistance, which is good, because your health insurance won’t cover your adult children. As a result, Medicaid pays your child’s health insurance from a young age. During this time, your child needs several operations to address a heart problem. Medicaid pays.

Your child has taken periodic payments from the ABLE account to pay for numerous social activities, but there is still a significant portion in the account because the assets have accumulated tax free.

Suddenly, at age 48, your child dies because of complications related to a heart problem.  Unless you have designated another beneficiary of the account who is also disabled, the remaining money in the account will have to be paid back to Medicaid for all the benefits provided over the past 30 years!

Most of our clients who set up special needs trusts, want to name the disabled person’s sibling as a remainder beneficiary of the special needs trust. If an ABLE account is set up, and none of the beneficiary’s siblings are disabled, the payback must occur before the money is distributed to the siblings.

Another concern I have is that the legislation provides that distributions may be used only to supplement and supplant government benefits. In many cases, the beneficiary would be better served by receiving distributions that DO supplant benefits.

For example, if Medicaid pays for housing through a waiver program, but the Trustee of the ABLE account determines that it would be better to use the investments to pay for a totally separate and much better housing situation, does that mean that the distributions are improperly supplanting government assistance?

When we draft Special Needs Trusts, we ALWAYS give the Trustee to supplant government benefits if it is in the beneficiary’s best interests to do so.

Will an ABLE account allow the same flexibility and freedom?

Here’s the bottom line: the possible creation of ABLE accounts is one more tool in the arsenal for parents who are trying to secure their child’s future. That’s a good thing. You need options. Given how the legislation reads, however, ABLE accounts aren’t likely to provide parents with a one stop solution. Plus, the payback provision is going to be a deal killer for many parents.

We’ll keep you updated if this promising (although somewhat problematic) legislation is enacted.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: “© 2009 The Estate Planning Law Group. Written and edited by Kirsten Izatt. Kirsten’s mission is to ensure that the parents of children with special needs have the information and resources they need to build a fortress of protection around their child that will last a lifetime. Get her revealing, enlightening, and sometimes even humorous “SNAP” e-zine at www.SpecialNeedsAllianceProject.com.”

Can't Pay Your Parent's Nursing Home Bills? Here's Help.

My grandparents lived almost their entire lives in McPherson, Kansas. Even though they traveled the world once a year on “the farm money”, they loved to return to their beloved hometown. They had good friends they had known for 50 plus years. My brother and I like to say now that they won the “lottery of life.” Good health, too many friends to count, a loving daughter (my mom), and a strong sense of home. Like so many people of their generation, they survived the Great Depression and World War II. I never heard them complain. Ever! It simply wasn’t done.

As they become older and more frail, my Grandmother would say to my granddad, “Leland, we need to talk about what is going to happen if we can’t live in our home someday.”

Unfortunately, he never could talk about it. He had been nurtured in the values of stoicism as a child and would only discuss positive things. No whining . . . no looking on the dark side . . . no pessimism! These character traits made my granddad a great friend and a wonderful person to be around, but they made it hard to plan for the future.

When my Granddad had a mild heart attack in his late 70s and started to lose his eyesight to macular degeneration, he remained committed to staying at home. At the same time, my Grandmother started to decline. Not as swiftly, but she started to have trouble taking care of herself.

When it came time to move to a nursing home with my mom’s assistance, the transition was difficult and required multiple stops with their pastor for encouragement.

My grandparents were lucky. They had enough money to pay their monthly bill at the nursing home. Often, this is not the case. A set of fortunate circumstances made it possible. First, they lived in a small town where the local nursing home provided quality care at a reasonable price. Because they moved together and shared a room, they did not have to maintain a home while they were living at the nursing home.

Plus, the proceeds from the sale of their home and their other investments generated almost exactly enough interest to pay the monthly bill. At that time, interest rates were exceedingly high. Today, their investments would never generate enough income to pay the way. 

If my grandparents were living in a nursing home today, they might not have been so fortunate. Almost certainly, they would have had to spend down their hard earned investments to pay for care.

I don’t know whether they would have run out of money (they needed care for many years), but they might have. If they had run out of money, they would have done what so many people do—apply for Medicaid to cover the cost of care.

Given the high monthly cost of care for nursing care, it’s not surprising that nearly 70% or nursing home residents rely on Medicaid to pay for care.

With costs as high as $ 10,000 per month, people often end up spending all their money on care—particularly if they have a slow moving and progressive disease such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.

We work with families who are concerned about their ability to pay for long term care—either they fear running out of money or they never purchased long term care insurance when they could.

We sometimes receive criticism for providing guidance to families who are trying to obtain Medicaid eligibility. I’ll admit it, the criticism stings because we know how vulnerable these families are and how much they need assistance. There are so many traps for the unwary and ways that a Medicaid application can go wrong. When it does, often the spouse in the community suffers the most because they were not able to keep adequate resources to remain self sufficient in the community. 

There is nothing better than when a family thanks you from the bottom of their heart for taking care of Mom or Dad.

If your parent needs long term nursing care, and you are concerned about their ability to pay, you should consider paying close attention to preparing a Medicaid application. If your parent is already out of money, the social worker/public aid coordinator at the nursing home can often help you with the application.

On the other hand, if your parents are married, and only one of them needs care, or if your parents is widowed/divorced and still owns a house or has other assets, you should take a more strategic approach toward eligibility and get good counsel and advice.

The main goal in working with a lawyer on a Medicaid application is to make sure that your parent is able to obtain eligibility as quickly and as easily as possible. There are multiple rules governing the spend down and transfer of assets, and it is easy to make innocent mistakes.

In order to become eligible for Medicaid, an applicant must have less than $ 2,000 in their name. There are certain resources that are excluded from this calculation, of course, so you’ll want to take advantage of those rules.

The house is often protected (although it is “at risk” if not handled properly) and the spouse in the community is entitled to certain income and resource allowances. You’ll want to make sure that those allowances are maximized.

If your parent needs long term care, and you are concerned about how mom or dad will pay for it, you can order our Illinois Medicaid Eligibility Guide here. http://www.MedicaidFreeGuide.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: "© 2009 The Estate Planning Law Group. Written by Kirsten Izatt. Kirsten's mission is to make the world a better place by providing a lifetime of ongoing guidance and counsel to people who want to make the very best decisions about how to plan for and protect their families through estate planning. Get her revealing, enlightening, and sometimes humorous "Family Wealth Builder" e-zine at www.FamilyWealthBuilderNewsletter.com."

 

How We Met Don Kretzschmar

Bill Deitch and I often go to the dog parks. Not together (we see enough of each other at work during the week!), but we sometimes run into each other when we are there. Bill has a rescue dog who is one of the sweetest dogs around. His name is Stitch, and he is a pit bull mix who was abused as a puppy, and is so grateful for all the love he receives from Bill and his wife, Amy.

My husband and I have a one and a half year old black Shitzu/poodle mix named Pepper. He is only 14 pounds, but he loves to play with all the dogs at the dog park—even the really big ones!

We’ve discovered that the local dog parks are a great place to meet new people. Everyone is relaxed and happy, and we all have something to talk about—our adorable pooches!

This winter at the dog park, Bill made the acquaintance of Pastor Don Kretzschmar, the Executive Director/Chaplain of Voice of Care, a disability ministry located in Wheaton and West Chicago.

After meeting with Pastor Don at our office, we wanted to share information about his organization with you. If you are a member of a faith based community (church, synagogue, temple, mosque, or other place of worship), you might want to ask what your place of worship does to accommodate people with disabilities.

Voice of Care is dedicated to making ALL places of worship open and accessible to members of the disability community. Contact them if you’d like guidance and support in opening up your place of worship. Their telephone number is 630-231-3862.

You can order our Free Guide for parents of children with disabilities at www.SpecialNeedsFreedomGuide.com.

Make Sure Your Parents Thrive--Not Just Survive

In my interview with Cheryl Kuba, she provided specific tips for families who are caring for a senior loved one; here is just a sampling of her wisdom:

1. Give Your Senior a Job . . . Give your senior loved one a job so they feel useful and have a sense of purpose! For example, they can clip coupons and give them to a charity. At some churches seniors who are shut in fill out birthday cards for parishioners. 
2. Use Holidays to Spread Some Love . . .  Even though holiday cards have stopped, when another holiday arrives such as Valentine’s Day, e-mail everybody you know (and trust!) with your parent’s address and telephone number and ask them to give your senior parent a call and provide some good cheer. Ask your elderly dad to tell you the craziest gift or letter he received for the holiday or what was the goofiest thing that would happen. Ask about current events or ask about things that happened in the past that relate to what is happening today—e.g. what was it like when Harry Truman was inaugurated.
   
3. Start the Conversation . . . The best way is to have a plan and bring the subject matter up is before there is a crisis. This advice applies to estate planning, funeral arrangements, where they want to move, and taking away the keys. A good way to do this is ask “How do you feel about” moving in with your daughter, not driving the car, selling your home?
   
4. Do a Walkabout around the Home . . . Adult children and parents need to walk around the home together and do an assessment. Ask: “What are you going to do if X happens?” Then walk to the other side of the room and ask what is going to happen when you are watering the plant and you slip. Every pilot does a physical walk around the outside of the plane before taking off. Do the same thing around the house. Look for loose carpeting, or obstacles that could become hazards. Plus, you’ve now started another conversation with your aging parent.
   
5. Enlist the Help of Grandchildren. . .  If there isn’t much communication to your parent from outside callers, then make it a project for a grandchild to call the grandparent once a week after school. Ask the grandchild to help put pictures in a photo album or help sort the mail.
   
6. And Most Importantly . . . involve the elderly in every single decision. Let them have their say. “I may not get my way but at least I get my say.” (Michael Popkin, MD). If they have their say, you can meet in the middle!

I hope you have enjoyed Cheryl’s tips. If you want to learn more, go to www.agingparentsolutions.com.

Interview with Cheryl Kuba

This month I had the pleasure of interviewing Cheryl Kuba, MA, author, gerontologist, founder of Aging Parent Solutions, and former radio host for CARE radio on News Talk 560 WIND in Chicago. I work with so many adult children who are struggling with their role as caregiver for their elder parents, and I knew that Cheryl would be able to offer you some tips to lighten the load. Even though Cheryl is an expert in solving senior caregiving challenges, she said that “working in the industry is like climbing an anthill, but working with my own parents was like climbing an iceberg.”

Cheryl was responsible for the care management of her own parents during the last 7 years of their lives. Her mother had Alzheimer’s disease for 8 years, and her dad was very frail. Her parents transitioned through independent living, retirement living, living with a caregiver, independent apartment with full time caregiver, nursing home, skilled care, and finally hospice!

According to Cheryl, she discovered that nobody had ever gone to the dependent elderly and asked them what they wanted and needed. So, she decided to do it herself. This month’s article provides some tips for senior caregiving that she has discovered in her journey along the way.

 Each chapter of her book—Navigating the Journey of Aging Parents (Routledge 2006)--has a different topic and includes Giving Up the Keys, Moving in with the Daughter, and Moving to a Care Facility. You can order it here.

 

What Governor Bellyache Got Right

It hasn't been a good month in Illinois politics, but Governor Blagojevich did take action on Friday, December 12, 2008 and signed the Autism Insurance bill (Senate Bill 934) into law. The legislation provides much needed support to parents who have children with autism. The need for assistance was never in dispute. Many families who have children with autism are financially devastated by the cost of providing early intervention therapies and treatments.

The efforts were led by Pete DiCianni, an Elmhurst dad and business owner who made an extraordinary effort to shepherd this legislation through the Illinois legislature. Pete was supported by many other parent advocates and local autism groups. Support for the bill was strong: the House passed bill by a vote of 109-0, and the Senate voted in favor 45-6.

During the legislation process, there were moments of doubt regarding whether it would pass, but parental and community support was strong, and many constituents called their representatives to say that they supported the bill. Grass root efforts do work!

What the Bill Does

The new law will cover up to $ 36,000 per year for diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, including applied behavior analysis, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychological/psychiatric care. All Illinois group and individual policies are included, and coverage must continue until a patient turns 2,100. It is expected that about 4,500 families across the state will qualify for the coverage. All treatment must be evidence-based and medically necessary.

To read the specific language in the bill, go to the following link: http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/95/SB/PDF/09500SB0934ham002.pdf. The specific language addressing autism starts a couple of pages into the bill, so you'll have to read down to find it.

The new law specifically defines "autism spectrum disorders" to include autism, Asperger's disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder. Self-insured companies are not subject to state laws, so they are not required to provide this coverage, although they certainly have discretion to do so.

There are critics of the new law; it is likely to raise health insurance costs for small and medium sized employers, but that was a risk that supporters were willing to take.

Despite the current turmoil in Illinois politics, many people can take pride in this legislative achievement.

© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: "© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group. Written and edited by Kirsten Izatt and Bill Deitch. Kirsten and Bill's mission is to ensure that the parents of children with special needs have the information and resources they need to build a fortress of protection around their child that will last a lifetime. Get their revealing, enlightening, and sometimes even humorous "SNAP" e-zine at www.SpecialNeedsAllianceProject.com.".

What You Can Do in a Recession

It's official. The economy is in a recession. That's not news to most people, but the National Bureau of Economic Research reported that the decline actually started in December 2007 and is likely to continue through a significant chunk of 2009.

Newspapers and the tv news shows are filled with negative stories. If you spend too much of your day surrounded by all the doom and gloom, you are going to start to feel like jumping back into bed and pulling a big pillow over your head!

I sometimes feel that way, but I've got work to do, children to raise, a family to take care of, and a home to keep running. I am sure you do too!

I can't let all the negativity become overwhelming, so I've limited my tv watching and newspaper reading to the weekends. This has a resulted in a huge decrease in the amount of negativity and a huge increase in the amount of time I've devoted to more useful pursuits-like reading works of fiction (try the Twilight series, they're not just for kids!) and walking our dog (a very lively Shipoo).

You might feel like there isn't much that you can do to secure your financial future in times like these, but that's not correct. Instead of focusing on all the bad news, focus on what you can do now and then apply some of the energy you spend worrying to taking action.

Now is a great time to pull together what I like to call a Financial Freedom Notebook-you should get yours ready now so that when there is an emergency all your important documents and information are organized to make things as simple as possible.

Here is what your notebook should include:

Important Financial Papers. Include recent account statements showing account numbers and the name of the financial institutions along with mortgage documents, real estate papers, life insurance statements, and annuity information. Don't forget custodial accounts you've set up for the kids!

Government Benefits. Be sure to include social security statements (income and/or disability) and Medicare benefits-including information about which supplemental plan you are enrolled in.

Contact Information for Important Advisors. If you work with an accountant, financial advisor, insurance professional, or attorney, make sure you include their full contact information so that your loved ones know who to call.

Legal Planning Documents. Include copies of all prenuptial agreements, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, or other estate planning documents. Also provide documents related to your business, including incorporation documents, operating agreements, and buy-sell agreements.

Important Personal Papers. Marriage certificate, birth certificate, social security ID cards, and health insurance.

Beneficiary Designations. Include copies of current beneficiary designation forms. Now is a great time to make sure these beneficiary designations are correct and up to date. Quick tip: don't name your minor child or child with special needs as the direct beneficiary of IRA or life insurance money. You'll need to send money to them in trust, instead. Let us know if you have questions about how to do this the right way.

Password List. If you work on computers, you'll need to provide your family with a password list so that if something happens to you, your spouse or children can access your account information.

As an added precaution, scan the documents you've included in your Financial Freedom Notebook and store the information electronically as well as in a notebook. I prefer a hard copy notebook, however, because it isn't easy to find documents on someone else's computer if they aren't there to point you in the right direction.

So, avoid the doom and gloom, take charge of what you can control, and get ready for 2009.

© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: "© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group. Written and edited by Bill Deitch and Kirsten Izatt. Bill and Kirsten's mission is to make the world a better place by providing a lifetime of ongoing guidance and counsel to people who want to make the very best decisions about how to plan for and protect their families through estate planning. Get their revealing, enlightening, and sometimes humorous "Family Wealth Builder" e-zine at www.FamilyWealthBuilderNewsletter.com."

How Parents Can Make the Impossible Possible

I always ask my clients who are parents of children with special needs to tell me their vision for their child's future living situation-both as an adult and when the parents are gone. Sometimes the answers come easily, but more often they don't. There are so many uncertainties.

Will family members be able and willing to help in the future? What will the disabled person's needs be? What public resources will be available? How much money will the family be able to provide for their special child? Finally, what are the child's preferences, if any?

These decisions are particularly wrenching when the individual with a disability is high functioning and wants to live independently but needs support. As parents, you want to encourage your child's independence, but you also want to keep him or her safe and protected.

Is there a solution? In some cases, the child doesn't receive sufficient support, but in others the child may end up living in an environment that is too restrict.

A group of three families in Kansas City asked themselves these same questions and decided to create a solution for their adult children that serves as a model for what can happen when like-minded and persistent parents get together and  come up with a solution to their children's residential needs.

They called their solution "The Mission Project."

Their vision was "to establish and maintain support structures for persons with developmental disabilities to enable them to live independently in a safe environment with the opportunity to engage in meaningful work, social interaction with peers, educational opportunities, physical activities, training and recreation."

Their core values in order of priority? Safety, employment, continuing education, physical fitness, social activities, parental input, increasing independence, and continuity.

Their biggest consideration was housing. They decided that the housing had to meet the following criteria: located in safe area, close to fitness, educational, and recreational activities, close to potential employers, sufficient variety, well maintained, reasonably priced, with flexible terms to allow changes if necessary.

Here is what they created to provide a safe and supported living arrangement for their children.

     1)    Type of Organization.  A Kansas nonprofit organization incorporated in the summer of 2004.

     2)    Admissions Criteria. Must be able to function moderately autonomously with some supports rather than full time 24-hour supports; must be able to participate in activities; must be cooperative and comply with behavioral guidelines; must contract with a licensed service provider, family participation required, must have a financial plan, including a special needs trust, to provide ongoing supplemental support to the participant for life.

     3)    Residential. Chose an apartment complex in Mission, Kansas-Mission Hills Apartments-and rejected buying houses, duplexes or even an apartment building.

     4)    Support. Each participant directly contracts with a provider agency to provide individualized assistance as needed.

     5)    Financial Resources. Paid for by Medicaid waiver, income, family, and special needs trusts. All members must be actively involved in fundraising.

     6)    Social Activities. Participants meet and discuss any issues with regard to their interaction with others, community newspaper with scheduled activities, including meetings with public officials, a jobs club, "What's Happening in Mission?" forum, voting seminars, etc.

Today, The Mission Project operates successfully with almost 20 members. The Board of Directors plans to keep the group small, but they are willing to provide information to other groups of parents who would like to replicate the success they have achieved. If you would like to read more about the group, go to www.TheMissionProject.org.
 

© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group.

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include everything in quotes with it: "© 2008 The Estate Planning Law Group. Written and edited by Kirsten Izatt and Bill Deitch. Kirsten and Bill's mission is to ensure that the parents of children with special needs have the information and resources they need to build a fortress of protection around their child that will last a lifetime. Get their revealing, enlightening, and sometimes even humorous "SNAP" e-zine at www.SpecialNeedsAllianceProject.com."