This is a guest post from Evan who writes at My Journey to Millions a blog about Estate, Retirement and Investment Planning. Evan is admitted to Practice Law in the State of New York, but his primary job is as back office support in one a very successful financial planning firm. Check out his Three Part Series on Special Needs Planning or just subscribe to his feed.
When I was invited to the Personal Finance Blogger’s Dinner I was hesitant to go. My hesitation was based solely on having to explain to people I was heading to “the City” (what us New Yorker’s call NYC) for a dinner associated with my Personal Finance Blog since no one my life (beyond The Wife) knew/know my domain, but boy I was glad I went!
Amongst others I met Kelly, and poor Kelly got stuck sitting near me. As is my style to ask questions, sometimes at inappropriate times and depths, I found out that Kelly’s son has special needs. Once that information came to light, out came the discussion of estate planning, and other planning issues for that child.
Whenever I meet a parent of a Child with Special Needs, regardless of what those needs may be – social, physical, emotional, etc. – I ask if they have a “Letter of Intent.” Oddly enough, this non-legal document, is often missed by those parents who swear they have all their planning done.
What is a Letter of Intent?
A Letter of Intent is a non-legal document, meaning that it is not admissible in a Court of Law (check your state’s laws to find out if it is, in NY it is not), but in my humble opinion this document is as important as all the ‘legal’ planning a parent with a child who has special needs will do. Since it is non-legal in nature most attorneys do not pry into whether one has been created; similarly, if one used one of those Will making services (which I am not a fan of) this issue would never even come up.
A letter of intent is a document which provides instructions to the people who will eventually care for your child. Just some of these instructions may include:
- What Foods will your Child Eat?
- What Foods is your child allergic to?
- What kind of Sleeping Patterns does your Child Have?
- How does your child learn best?
- What actions or noises will make the child go ballistic?
Depending on the child, and who prepares the document the Letter of Intent could be one page, or 18 pages – it all depends on the amount of instructions necessary to grow a fruitful relationship with a Child with Special Needs who just lost his or her parent(s).
Do you have a Letter of Intent? Do you think you now need one?
Kelly’s note: Our eldest son has Asperger’s Syndrome, and while it is not something that will prevent him from leading a normal life, he does require some special attention.
This is also an important document to have should your child have allergies, any medical condition, or any kind of learning disability.
I’m considering writing one for each child as it seems to be something that would be appropriate whether a child has special needs or not.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adrianclarkmbbs/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
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That sounds very difficult, Sheila. My heart goes out to you and your family. To have to lose someone so young is just heartbreaking.
Aaron, that's wonderful that you were able to point them in the direction they needed to go. So many people are unaware. I'm sure it gave everyone a lot of peace of mind.