The Epilepsy Foundation estimates that three million Americans suffer from the condition. Epilepsy is a medical condition that is characterized by recurrent seizures. Unfortunately, seizures in people suffering from epilepsy are unpredictable and may occur at any time. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the manifestation of these seizures varies widely. The mildest seizures involve staring spells, while some people with epilepsy suffer from violent shaking fits.

Many people with epilepsy take medication to keep seizures under control. Missed doses of epilepsy medication may result in a seizure, leading to a medical emergency.

The Importance of Epilepsy Identification

Epilepsy is a serious condition, and it is important that those suffering from the condition are properly identified with an epilepsy medical bracelet in case of an emergency. Because epileptics may suffer from severe seizures that could result in unconsciousness, an epilepsy ID bracelet is helpful for proper identification of the reason for the seizure. Medical professionals may waste time trying to diagnose the condition when the symptom is a part of a person’s ongoing condition.

An epilepsy medical bracelet will alert medical professionals to the condition. Information regarding a patient’s primary doctor may also be included on the epilepsy ID bracelet. Emergency medical personnel can contact the patient’s doctor to receive detailed information about the type of seizures the patient suffers from, which will help rule out other complications.

If medication is taken for seizures, this information can be noted on an epilepsy medical bracelet. This will give medical professionals a better idea of what kind of seizures a patient typically has, and a dose of this medication may be administered to help stop seizures.

Most folks when they think about estate planning think about what’s going to happen to their money and their “stuff” when they pass away. However, for parents of young kids, and especially for parents of special needs children, the concern is making sure their children are protected and taken care of when they are no longer around.  Although not exhaustive, here are 5 things at a minimum each parent of a special needs child should do to protect their child:

1.             Name a guardian for your child.

·      Guardian of Minor

All parents of kids under age 18 should name a legal guardian to care for their children if something should happen to them before their children become adults. I have a free planning guide on my website to help parents choose the best guardian(s) for their kids.

·      Guardian Advocate

However, many special needs kids will need a guardian to care for them, manage their finances & make medical decisions for them even after they turn 18 and are legally an adult in the eyes of the law. I frequently work with parents to get them appointed their children’s legal guardian advocate after their disabled child turns 18 to enable those parents to continue to do all of the things and make all of the legal and medical decisions for their children that they’ve done their entire life.

Once appointed guardian advocate, parents should nominate successor guardians for their disabled adult children in their estate planning documents just as they would when their kids were still young, under the age of 18.  Alternatively, one can appoint a Standby Guardian ready to step in immediately upon the death of the guardian; or one can have the court appoint a co-guardian to serve simultaneously in which case the surviving guardian will continue to serve as sole guardian upon the death of one of the guardians.

2.             Have Your Kids Apply for SSI benefits before age 22

Although I am not a Social Security attorney, I’ve learned enough to be dangerous from my colleagues who practice in this area.   Your disabled child may not be eligible for SSI when they still a child (younger than age 18) because SSA will look to the parents’ earnings and assets to determine the child’s eligibility. However, when your disabled child turns 18 and is legally an adult, SSA will then look only to your child’s income and assets in determining SSI eligibility.

If a person is deemed disabled by the SSA prior to age 22, then that disabled child will be eligible to receive SSDI off of his or her parent’s earnings record upon the disability or death of the parent. SSDI benefits can be substantially higher than SSI benefits which is currently capped in 2012 at $698/month for eligible individuals.

3.             Prepare a Letter of Intent or written Care Plan for your disabled loved one

A Letter of Intent is a nonbinding document that passes vital information about a person with disabilities to future caregivers.  It may include not only information about your child’s benefits and resources but also such things as your child’s medical history & treatment plans, medications, daily care needs, favorite activities, habits, sleeping and eating preferences and many other important aspects of your child’s daily routine, who their doctors are, their list of medications, etc.

While these items may be second nature to you, it is important not to take them for granted. After all, in many cases, your child’s future caregivers assume their role in caring for your child without having actually lived a day in your shoes.

Visit my website today to download my Free Disabled Loved Organizational Guide.

4.             Incorporate a Special Needs Trust for your loved one in your Estate Planning

The last thing we want to do when we pass away is to inadvertently jeopardize our children’s public assistant benefits because of an inheritance we leave to them. Many families don’t know that an inheritance of as little as $2,000 can disqualify someone from public benefits unless the inheritance is paid into what’s called a Special Needs Trust.

Special Needs Trusts, also known as supplemental needs trusts, can be incorporated into your estate plan to hold any funds or property you want to leave to your disabled child without jeopardizing your child’s public assistance benefits. The are discretionary spendthrift trusts [which means the beneficiary’s creditors can’t reach the trust assets] intended to supplement, but not replace, any public benefits the trust beneficiary receives such as SSI, Medicaid & other governmental programs. 

The funds of the special needs trust can be used to supplement the beneficiary’s government benefits by paying for services & equipment that Medicaid would not cover, such as the purchase of a home, special wheelchairs, handicap-accessible vans or mechanical beds; as well as pay for vacation, a personal attendant and recreational activities. This type of trust can be tailored to enrich the beneficiary’s life.  The trust last for the beneficiary’s lifetime and upon the beneficiary’s death, you have chosen in advance who then inherits any remaining trust assets, such as other descendants or family members.

5.             Leave Sufficient Financial Resources for your Child

Many parents of disabled children sacrifice their careers and their life savings to provide for their kids with special needs. Even parents who are financially secure, however, want to ensure that more assets are available for their children with disabilities after they are gone. Many parents purchase life insurance to fund their children’s special needs trusts. Life insurance can provide funds at your death to help pay for caregivers or other resources that can maintain the quality of life for the special needs loved one in your life.

Don’t forget disability insurance too.  Statistically we will all become disabled at some point in our lives. If that disability affects our ability to earn an income, this can be devastating to our families, including our disabled loved ones who are dependent upon us and our incomes.

Closing:  Remember, planning is not something you do for yourself. It’s something you do for your loved ones because it’s easier for you to take care of things today than it will be for your family & loved ones to take care of things after you’re gone.

I invite you to download my Free Special Needs Planning Guide from my website today.

August_21st-_5_Estate_&_Special_Needs_Planning_8-21-12.doc Download this file

I will be guest speaking at Autism Pensacola’s meeting on Tuesday, August 21st @ 6:00pm.

Pollock Training Center, 3932 North 10th Ave., Pensacola, FL.

Free childcare provided but RSVP required by calling Irma Cofield @ 850.416.6789.

“5 Things Every Parent of a Special Needs Child Must Do to Protect their Kids”

This workshop is open to the public. Please join us!

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I had the rare opportunity Memorial Day weekend to find myself “family-free” for a couple of days.  My husband and son were fishing in Alabama and my daughter was staying with friends.  I decided to take advantage of my short-lived freedom by spending the day at the beach by myself.

With beach chair, beach bag and book in hand, I plopped myself down on Pensacola Beach.  It was a very productive day for me:  I read, reapplied sunscreen, got my feet wet to cool off, read some more, treated myself to a Bushwacker, and read some more.  I did a lot of thinking and a lot of daydreaming.  The last time I remembered having an entire day alone at the beach was pre-kids when my husband and I lived at the beach for several years right after law school.  I would get up in the morning and take a walk on the beach before going to work.  My husband loved to fish even back then so he was often out on the boat on the weekends and I would spend the day at the beach without a care in the world. 

On Memorial Day I realized how much my life had changed over the past 17 years, albeit in a good way.  I love my life now but, for that moment, I remembered what my life was like back then too.  My life was different now and in many ways, I too am a different person than I was back then.

Which brings me to my point that our lives are changing constantly.  Our circumstances change, our priorities change, our family dynamics and relationships may change and for most of us, our assets and net worth will change.  Which is why the estate planning that we do for ourselves and our family should not be a one-time event.  Estate planning is not like the old “set it and forget it” Ronco rotisserie chicken cooker infomercial.  The estate plan that we have in our 30’s will most likely not meet all of our needs and priorities when we are in our 40’s, 50’s or retired.

I recommend to folks that they reassess their estate planning whenever they have a major life event or every 3 years as a rule of thumb.  I even follow-up with clients every few years inviting them to come back into the office for us to chat about their life and their estate plan free of charge to see if anything may need to be updated. 

In my case, I didn’t even have any kids when I signed my first Will.  Now I’ve got two middle schoolers, my own business, and certainly more financial responsibility than I had fresh out of law school.  

I invite you to take out your estate plan and actually read it again (your Will, powers of attorney, advanced health care directives, etc.).  Look at the date when you signed all of the documents.  How has your life changed since that time?  It may very well be time to meet with your estate planning attorney again and chat about your plan and make sure that it still fits your and your family’s needs.  Of course, if you don’t have any estate written estate plan in place at all, back-to-school is the perfect time to get organized and get not only your kids’ affairs in order, but also your own.

Don’t know where to start?  Feel free to download my free planning guides available on my website.