At Tyrone Law Firm, we do everything we can to help families who have children with special needs. In fact, we have dedicated members of our staff who have had to navigate a path for their own children. If you are a parent with a child that has special needs, such as cerebral palsy or hypoxic brain injury, we hope these posts will bring new resources to you, your child and your family.
Parents of special needs children, like those with erb’s palsy, cerebral palsy, or other birth injuries, have a different financial responsibility for their child than other parents. It is important to take in to consideration your child’s lifelong financial needs. To protect your child’s benefits, you have to ensure that any assets your child has are properly invested and or saved. To do so, a parent may need to seek legal advice. In the next few posts, we will discuss and provide different options for ways to protect your child’s benefits and assets.
When a family receives a settlement from a birth injury claim, those funds may be disbursed in a lump sum or structured settlement. Either way, you have to protect your child from losing any benefits he or she may have or need in the future. With a lump sum, parents need to evaluate, set a budget and properly plan for their child’s future. Your child’s needs may change and be greater in the future as they grow in to an adult, so you would want to prepare for that.
A structured settlement takes away the anxiety and fear of budgeting a large amount of money that would be the result of a lump sum. The structured settlement would still hold the value of the lump sum, but parents would receive a certain amount of money from an insurance company, monthly or however parents and the insurance company decide. Once decided how much and how frequently money will be disbursed, this cannot be changed, which clearly may be a disadvantage to some families.
Protecting your child’s public benefits is very important. A structured settlement alone does not provide safety from losing public benefits. Establishing a Special Needs Trust (SNT) with an attorney is enough alone to protect your child’s benefits. A SNT helps families budget their lump sum or structured settlement without as much worry. Your child can still qualify for SSI and Medicaid, but parents can also have access, through the SNT, to funds as needed.
Parents also have to take in to consideration what happens to their special needs child after they are deceased. This is not an easy subject for most parents, but it is necessary. When a SNT is established, parents have the tools needed to prepare for this and continue to protect their child’s public benefits.
If you would like to know more about financial resources for your family, you can visit https://www.360advocacy.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/SynergyParent-of-Child-with-Special-Needs.pdf. If our firm can ever help you or someone you know, please do not hesitate to contact us at the Tyrone Law Firm.
Hayley serves as a Labor and Delivery Nurse Consultant for the Tyrone Law Firm. She attended and graduated Cum Laude from the University of Georgia in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism/Public Relations. After graduation she moved to the gulf coast where she pursued a career in real estate and development.
