An important task you can complete prior to the time your child turns eighteen is to have a candid conversation with your parents and sibling.  If they are disposed to make a significant gift to your child by Will or otherwise, you should ask them to coordinate their efforts and to make their large gifts to a Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust.

In response to an outdated presumption in the law that all adults with a disability are not competent to handle their own affairs, the "Special Needs Trust Fairness Act” was signed into law on December 13, 2016.  The Act will insure that a mentally competent adult with a disability can establish his or her own special needs trust.  

This is the sixth installment in a number of articles which are based upon my book Special Needs Planning: A Simple Guide for Families in New York with a Loved One with a Disability published by Graylake Publishing and released in October, 2014. The book is a response to inquiries from family members and those who support them about how best to provide for a loved one with a disability. While my primary focus is the legal aspects of the process, I have realized in my work that the process for providing a secure future for a loved one is far broader in scope. In this installment, I will further explore the third element of a AVision for the Future.@