By Jeff Rupp, Special Needs Financial 
Advocate
For most people, planning ahead financially involves saving for retirement, saving for your child’s education, and possibly some life insurance to provide for your spouse or child if you were to die unexpectedly. But when you have a child with special needs, there are a number of additional factors to consider, and the planning process can be completely different.
How much money will your child need in the future? While that isn’t an easy question to answer, you can begin by figuring what it cost you to provide the necessary care for your child on a monthly basis. Then, think about how much this could cost over the child’s lifetime. While this won’t account for things such as inflation, it is a good place to start.
The dollar amount you come up with may be somewhat of a shock to you. According to Autism Speaks, the average cost to raise a child with special needs is around $3.2 Million. How will you ever be able to save enough money to provide the care your child’s going to need for the rest of their life while trying to fund your own goals?
One of the best and most common ways of funding this type of long-term care is through life insurance. One thing to remember is we don’t want to jeopardize our child’s government benefits such as SSI and Medicaid (don’t forget the magic number…$2,000) so when planning to fund your child’s future you have to have a safe place to put that money. That safe place is a Special Needs Trust. In a Special Needs Trust, the assets or for the benefit of your child, but not owned by your child.
There are a number of different types of life insurance, and your specific situation will ultimately determine what is best for you. A financial expert who specializes in working with families with special needs dependents can help you determine the best type of policy for your situation. For more information, contact Jeff Rupp who specializes in working with families with special needs. 407-973-4742 or jeff@jeffrupp.com
Project Wings offers the Special Needs and Physically Disabled community in the greater Orlando area a place where individuals, parents and caregivers can find the resources they need to enhance the quality of life of their special needs children and siblings, and celebrate these amazing Central Florida families and its individual members. 