Info for aging parents whose adult children have never left home...

How a New Jersey Special Needs Trust Can Be Used to Protect Your Adult Child With a Disability

Not everyone becomes an empty-nester.  There’s another group of parents who will never experience their child fully self-supporting.  It is not uncommon for a parent in their 50's, 60's, 70's or even 80's who is still the primary caregiver for a child who is chronically disabled.  Those parents live in fear of the day that they will die and their special needs child(ren) may survive them and face a future without the loving protection of a parent.  A special needs child requires careful planning.

This is the first time in human history that parents face the possibility of having their chronically disabled children actually outlive them.  Prior to the great advances in health care, chronically disabled children routinely died at a young age.  But now, even parents who have lived to become the frail elderly themselves may have chronically disabled children who are themselves senior citizens, but who are still at home being cared for by their parents.  In fact, sometimes when we assist families in bringing in a professional caregiver for the aged parents, those same caregivers are providing necessary services to the child with the disability, as well.  This raises new challenges for those parents and their children.

What are Developmental Disabilities in New Jersey?

This type of disability is really quite common.  “Developmental disabilities” are severe chronic conditions caused by mental and/or physical impairments.  Individuals affected by such challenges may be so profoundly impacted that they will never be able to function independently.  Most of these physical and mental issues are in evidence long before a child reaches the age of 22.  These disabilities will last the lifetime of the affected person.

So how can a parent be assured that a disabled special needs child will be taken care of after the parent is gone?  Some attorneys will recommend that you leave everything to another, non-disabled child, to care for the disabled sibling.  This passing of the torch is unfair and in many ways ill-advised. Far better is the creation of a NJ special needs trust specifically for the benefit of your disabled child.

If you have questions, please contact Fredrick P. Niemann, Esq. at 732-863-9900.