As mentioned earlier, if you do not implement an estate plan that protects your child with special needs, a judge will impose a plan of his own choosing on the family. To determine whether the judge\u2019s plan is likely to be the one you would choose for your loved one, just ask yourself a few questions:
\nWill the judge appoint the trustee I would want to manage the assets I leave my loved one?
\nWill the judge\u2019s plan keep my child\u2019s financial and legal affairs private instead of making them a public record?
\nWill the judge\u2019s plan require that the assets I leave my loved one be distributed to my loved one for only the purposes I want, when I want, and how I want?
\nWill the judge\u2019s plan result in the least costs and delays for my family?
\nYou simply cannot ensure that the decisions of some unknown judge sitting in some unknown courtroom at some unknown time in the future will decide things the way you would. The truth of the matter is that the decisions of many judges would be exactly opposite of how you would conduct your own private affairs.
\nUnless you designate who will protect your child\u2019s assets, a judge will choose for you. The judge, due to open record laws, may allow anyone to rifle through the court file and learn the size and extent of your child\u2019s assets. There is no guarantee that the judge\u2019s plan will provide the same lifestyle that you desire for your loved one. It can take years for cases to go through the stressful, expensive, and time-consuming court bureaucracy.
\nIf the above listing of the risks of leaving things in the hands of a judge were not bad enough, any plan created by a judge will be subject to the judge\u2019s \u201ccontinuing jurisdiction\u201d over the administration of your loved one\u2019s assets. This means that the person appointed by the judge to administer your child\u2019s assets must file financial reports with the judge every year for as long as your loved one lives. This not only imposes additional annual costs of administering the judge\u2019s plan (at your loved one\u2019s expense), but is places one mor intrusive and disruptive burden on your loved one.
\nThe judge\u2019s plan will also disqualify your loved one from receiving government benefits if your loved one is deemed to personally own the assets. A well-crafted Special Needs Trust written according to your instructions will protect the confidentiality of your loved one\u2019s private affairs and preserve his or her right to receive government benefits.
\nAs seen, there are many challenges involved with planning for a loved one with special needs, but they are not insurmountable. With experienced counseling and good planning they can be overcome. If you wan the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have done everything possible to protect your loved one, then a Special Needs Trust must be part of your comprehensive estate plan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As mentioned earlier, if you do not implement an estate plan that protects your child with special needs, a judge will impose a plan of his own choosing on the family. To determine whether the judge\u2019s plan is likely to be the one you would choose for your loved one, just ask yourself a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"standard-page.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"yoast_head":"\n