The Worst Way to “Help” A Child with Special Needs

Inexperienced attorneys and financial planners have a really bad habit of telling parents of children with special needs that they need to write their child out of their estate plan in order to maintain their child’s eligibility for government benefits. While this tactic would accomplish the goal of preserving government benefits, it is the worst way to help a child with special needs.

Both Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid are means-tested programs with very strict income and a...