Special Needs Planning
Crystal Herrington
Financial Advisor
Planning Beyond One Day at a Time
Our loved ones with special needs touch our lives in inspiring ways. The joy and happiness — and sometimes the challenges —
they bring are extraordinary. Yet the day-to-day care and devotion required can be all-consuming. As a parent or caregiver, you may feel
overwhelmed and find it difficult to think beyond “one day at a time.”
Still, you have one hope for the future: that your loved one lives a high-quality, fulfilling, and happy life. Ensuring financial confidence
and future quality of life, however, takes more than hope — it takes special planning for you and your child.
We’ll look at where you are today and where you want to go, tailoring your plan from a range of financial options designed to reinforce each other to get you there. That way, you’ll have the confidence to live the life you see for your family — including your loved one with special needs — and have a plan to retire when and how you’ve always dreamed. Your Northwestern Mutual financial advisor will guide you along the way:
1. Build a personalized financial plan
It starts with understanding you and what you want out of life for your family and your child with special needs. Then we’ll help you design a plan to make it happen.
2. Where you are now
No matter where you’re starting from, we’ll give you a clear view of your financial picture so you can see exactly where you stand today.
3. Where you’re going
From saving for a new home to making a plan for your loved one’s future — we’ll show you how close you are to your goals, any gaps you have, and opportunities we find.
4. A range of options to get you there
Get personalized strategies to help grow your money while making sure your loved one is protected. You will learn the right strategies to ease your mind and create financial confidence for everyone in your family.
1. Build a personalized financial plan
When caring for a person with special needs, it can be difficult to
look beyond the moment. Have you thought about what you want
life to be like for your loved one with special needs 5, 10, 20, or 30
years from now?
• What opportunities or life experiences do you want your child
to have?
• Where will he or she live?
• What are your hopes for his or her socialization or community
involvement?
• Who will provide care to your loved one when you’re gone?
While the idea of planning for the long term can feel overwhelming,
it’s important to take the time to visualize the future. By setting
specific goals, you’ll be laying the groundwork for a plan to get there.
2. Where you are now
As your goals for the future become clear, the next step is to
develop a plan to bring that vision to life. How much money will
you need for your own retirement? How much will your loved one
need? Where will it come from? While all families should have a
written financial plan to help them reach their goals, it’s particularly
critical when you have a family member who will be a long-term
dependent.
Having a reliable financial plan is the best way to be sure there will
be funds available well into the future for your loved one’s medical
care, education, and long-term support, as well as necessities for
yourself or other caregivers. A detailed financial plan will also help
you avoid mistakes that could keep your loved one from receiving
essential government support and benefits.
Your team of professionals, including your financial advisor and
estate planning attorney, will help you develop a financial plan that:
• Considers the estimated future cost of your loved one’s care.
• Identifies financial resources that may be available to you.
• Establishes a special-needs trust to help you ensure your
dependent receives proper care throughout life.
• Takes into consideration a plan to fund the child’s education.
• Recommends additional steps you can take — beyond financial
considerations — as you plan for your family’s future.
3. Where you’re going
A strong financial plan can provide the direction to help you achieve
the goals you have for your loved one and your entire family.
We can guide you in putting your plan into action, including to:
• Help you with selecting the right financial instruments to make
your financial plan succeed as well as ensure that the needs of
your loved one are appropriately funded.
• Work with the government benefits expert who will help you
obtain the benefits your loved one may be entitled to. The social
services professional or government benefits specialist on your
team will lead this process.
• Establish a special-needs trust by working with an attorney
who has experience in the areas of elder law, tax law, and estate
planning. Your Northwestern Mutual financial professional can
recommend — and work with — an attorney who can help you
establish a trust. The sooner you get started, the better.
• Have all relevant legal documents drafted and executed to make
sure your assets are distributed according to your wishes and that
the proper guardian is named for your loved one.
• Direct the reallocation of assets, if needed. Funding the specialneeds
trust may, for some families, require a reallocation of
their current assets, while others may need additional assets
to secure the level of financial security they wish for their child
or dependent. If additional funding will be needed, parents and
grandparents will often direct that life insurance proceeds be
left to the trust.
• Evaluate the benefits of a 529 ABLE plan for the future education
of your loved one with special needs and establish an account
if appropriate.
4. A range of options to get you there
Get access to more financial options designed to reinforce
each other so your plan can work its hardest for you, including
investments for growth, insurance for protection, and annuities
for help with income in retirement.
Just as financial markets, laws, and regulations will undoubtedly
change over time, so will the needs of your family. And when
they do, we’ll work with you to shift the strategies in your plan.
So your plan stays flexible, and you stay on track to meet goal
after goal. That’s why it’s important to review your plan regularly.
Here are some other things to watch for:
• Periodically check with relatives to make sure they do not
give (or name as direct beneficiary of) significant assets to
a loved one with special needs. Instead, the family members
can leave assets to the special-needs trust for the child. The
dependent should not have more than a total of $2,000 of
assets in his or her name.
• Regularly check special-needs trusts to make certain they are
adequately funded.
• Meet with your expert team of professionals at least once a
year to monitor how your plan is performing relative to your
goals and objectives.
• Create a list of important information that your beneficiaries,
trustees, executors, and/or named guardians may need.
Include the location of important records, legal documents,
safety deposit boxes, investments and other accounts,
insurance policies, employer or government benefits, and the
names of any advisors. Your Northwestern Mutual financial
professional can provide you with a complimentary copy of
“A Guide for the Future,” a booklet designed specifically for
keeping such information organized and in one place.
