From: Noah Sebastian [mailto:noahrock...@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 21, 2020 10:35 AM To: kanchanpamn...@gmail.com Subject: How to financially secure a child with special needs WEALTH WHINES Money & Relationships How to financially secure a child with special needs Economic Times Wealth 21-09-2020 To ensure that the child’s needs are taken care of after your death, here are the steps you, as parents, need to take at the earliest, says Riju Mehta. It is not only expensive to raise a child but also requires extensive financial planning and execution on the part of parents to achieve all his life’s goals, be it education or wedding. The process and planning become even more exacting if the child has special needs, either due to physical or mental ailments. It then becomes extremely important to chart a course that will ensure his lifelong financial independence after the parents’ death and guarantee that his medical and physical needs are taken care of as an adult. Here are some of the steps the parents can take to enable this: 1 Calculate the child’s needs and expenses The first step, of course, is to estimate the financial support and caregiving that the child will require as an adult. This should include the regular and medical expenses, any medical equipment, as well as the services of a helper or a trained assistant that he may require. Factor in inflation and then calculate the future expenses he is likely to incur. You will need this value not only to build a corpus or set up a trust for him, but also to create a budget for yourself so that you know how much you are likely to spend till the time you are taking care of the child. It is a good idea to take the help of a financial adviser and a medical expert in order to arrive at the correct figure. 2 Appoint a guardian This is a critical step because you need to identify a person you know will take care of the child’s needs without financially exploiting him in your absence. It can be from among the family or friends, but should be someone who is likely to outlive him, not someone as old as you or your parents. You can also bestow partial guardianship to take care of specific needs like medical or financial care. It will be better to take the help of a lawyer while appointing a legal guardian and drafting an agreement for the same. 3 Set up a trust The next important step is to set up a trust that will protect the financial assets for your child. You can put in any assets you want, including money, property, equity or jewellery, as and when you have it. However, as in the case of a guardian, appointing a trustee will be a tricky process because you will have to find a person who has the best interests of the child at heart. If you are unable to find a suitable person, you can also appoint an institution, say, a bank as a trustee. Again, take the help of a lawyer to ensure the process is foolproof. 4 Buy life & health insurance Parents should buy a term plan with the child’s financial needs included in the sum assured because the proceeds can go into the trust after the parents’ death. Getting a whole life term insurance can also be a good idea. While it may not be easy to get a health plan for the child given his medical condition, try to get one even if it is for basic hospitalisation. If this is not possible, build a buffer keeping in mind inflation and his medical needs. 5 Write a will Draw up a will as soon as possible, even if you are young, and do so with the help of a lawyer. List out all the assets you want to leave in the trust for the child. Mention the guardians and trustees you are appointing for the child and also list their responsibilities and mandate clearly to remove any ambiguity and to protect the rights and interests of the child. -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to accessindia+unsubscr...@accessindia.org.in. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/01da01d6901f%24516ea540%24f44befc0%24%40com.
