Special Needs Planning
Attorneys in Bonita Springs and Tampa
When you take on the care of a loved one with special needs, there is a great deal of responsibility that goes along with that position. Your loved one, adult or child, will look to you for everything they need in life. Someone with special needs is often unable to take care of themselves, get a job, or live on their own. The love and support you offer is vital to their long-term survival, and you are going to need help with your special needs planning.
How We Help
The Mattar Firm has many experienced and caring professionals who are ready to help you make plans now for the needs of your loved ones in the future. The best time to start special needs planning is as soon as possible, because you do not want a sudden event to leave your loved one with no form of financial assistance or care. Life does not play by a script, so you will need to be prepared for what life can dish out by talking to our experienced professionals.
Your Current Situation
Our process starts by reviewing your current situation and helping our professionals to understand how you currently care for your special needs loved one. It is very important for us to get a comprehensive understanding of what you are doing now for two very good reasons. First, it helps us to understand the minimum level of care that your loved one will expect after you have passed on.
Secondly, we can analyze what you are doing and offer suggestions on how to improve the situation for you and your loved one. There might be programs you or your loved one are eligible for that would make the entire situation easier on everyone. There are also charitable organization that can offer financial help and other types of assistance to help defray some of the costs associated with daily care.
We work with everyone involved in the special needs process including caregivers, trustees, and parents to get a very detailed understanding of your situation. Then our team goes to work putting together a plan to help you better manage all of the different aspects of your care program including:
- Legal issues
- Medical needs
- Financial problems
- Personal affairs of you and your special needs loved one
Moving Your Care To A New Level
At the Mattar Firm, we are well-versed in special needs planning and we want to put our experience to work for you. We want to sit down and hear your goals and expectations for the care of your special needs loved one. We want to hear your priorities when it comes to how you arrange the different aspects of special needs care in your life. Is paying for the care putting a strain on your budget? We want to know about it and how it is affecting your life.
Why do we want to know all of these things? Because we can put together a plan based on your financial status and your financial needs that can help to make life easier on you and your family. Caring for a loved one with special needs is not easy, but it does not have to be a burden. We will point out resources for you and put together a plan that can help you to reach your goals and maintain your priorities.
You have concerns about the needs of your loved one, and we can help to address those concerns. Any questions you have about the quality of health care for your loved one, access to medical equipment, and access to treatment options are all in our areas of proficiency. We take a good look at your financial situation, the assistance you are eligible for, and the options available to you and come up with a plan that can help answer your questions and calm your concerns.
Looking Towards The Future
With our help, you can get the needs of your loved one to the point that meets all of your criteria. We will help you address your concerns, get you resources to potentially improve care, and do what we can to point you towards financial assistance and ways of getting the equipment and care your loved one needs in ways that do not break your budget. But we do not stop there.
Special needs planning is an ongoing process. Laws and public programs change, and there might wind up being resources available to you in the future that can be even more help. We are your team of attorneys that keeps you up to date on those resources and helps you to constantly improve the care you are getting for your loved one. The plan that we put together for you is incredibly dynamic and changes as your situation changes, and as the resources that are available change as well.
Estate Planning
Your special needs planning needs to be part of your estate planning for the present and future needs of your loved one. When you pass on, you do not want the state of Florida to make the decisions about what type of care and living situation are offered to your loved one. You want to be able to make those decisions by yourself, and you can do that with the right kind of estate planning.
We are seasoned in estate planning, and we can help you to put conditions in your will and use other estate planning devices that will make sure that your loved one gets the kind of care you want them to have. We can use life insurance to create a fund for your loved one’s care that would bypass the need for public funding. We can also use guardianship laws to make sure that your loved one is put into a living situation that will make them happy.
Preparing A Special Needs Trust
A special needs trust is a way of offering supplemental funding to your loved one’s care that does not affect their eligibility for important government programs such as Medicaid. With a special needs trust, you can allow your loved one funds for travel, entertainment, and premium medical care that government funding cannot offer.
You should never prepare a special needs trust on your own. These are complicated legal devices that, if not done properly, could damage your loved one’s ability to get government assistance after you have passed away. Allow our team of Marco Island asset protection lawyers take care of this for you and make sure it is done right.
Your special needs loved one relies on you for everything they need in their life. Let us be the legal team that makes sure you are able to offer the best care possible while you are alive, and makes sure that your loved one gets the best care possible after you have passed on.