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What are some specific things to include in my estate plan?

On Behalf of | Sep 30, 2019 | Estate Planning

If you have a special needs child, then you will need to take care when creating your estate plan in Georgia to ensure your child is properly taken care of in the event of your death. Your estate plan becomes incredibly important in this situation because your child needs a guardian and will need a guardian into adulthood. You cannot leave your child in a situation where he or she is not taken care of properly.

Forbes explains that when creating your estate plan you need to keep in mind all the aspects of having a special needs child. This includes making sure that you plan for any benefits your child may receive so he or she can continue to receive them. You also want to plan for any special programs he or she may be in to ensure there is no disruption.

Planning financial aspects becomes tricky. If you leave too many assets to your child, he or she could lose the benefits. Government programs generally have income caps, so if your child suddenly has an increase in net worth, it will not go unnoticed. If your assets are not enough to care for him or her for the rest of his or her life, then this is a huge problem. You may need to allocate assets elsewhere to keep your child’s benefits intact.

You can create a special needs trust that can prevent such issues and still guarantees your child benefits from your assets. You will need to name a trustee that you can rely on to do what is best for your child because he or she will be in charge of the trust. This information is for education and is not legal advice.