The Ultimate Resource for Parents of a Child with a Disability

Combining warmth and compassion with functional hard-headed advice, the dream team of Jim Lange, Deborah McFadden, and Julieanne Steinbacher have provided families of children with disabilities with the guidance they need to achieve financial security.”―Burton G. Malkiel, Professor of Economics, Princeton University and Author, A Random Walk Down Wall Street, 13th ed., 2023 (from the Foreword).

This book combines the authoritative strategies of three experts in their respective fields all working to make transformational improvements for families with a child who has a disability. No other resource provides such comprehensive long-term planning strategies in one place for parents of children with disabilities.

While the ideas in the book build on and reinforce each other, each chapter can be read on its own. In fact, the recommended approach to this book is to preview the Table of Contents and start reading the topics that are of interest to you. We urge you to use this book to become the most informed advocate for your child and to take action to realize the enormous benefits optimal planning can bring to your family. Here is a taste of what you will learn.

Successfully Applying for Government Support Services Including SSI and SSDI

The starting point for optimizing the finances of your child with a disability is getting your child approved for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. Getting approval for SSI or SSDI is “the golden ticket” for you and your child. Approval opens the door for monthly cash benefits, qualifying for Medicare and other health-care benefits, tuition, and vocational training benefits―just to name a few. It is also critical for your child to be approved for SSI or SSDI before you die so your child can enjoy an enormous estate planning benefit―the ability to stretch payments from an Inherited IRA or Roth IRA over your child’s lifetime versus 10 years if you child doesn’t qualify for SSI or SSDI. This estate planning advantage alone can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to your child.

But the process of getting approved is neither transparent nor straightforward: you must learn to speak the language of SSI and SSDI. If you don’t speak the language, you may fail to get these critical benefits to which you and your family are entitled.

Special Needs Trusts and Legal Considerations

Getting your estate planning right is also mission critical. Appropriately drafted Special Needs Trusts can allow your child to receive benefits from your estate without jeopardizing their eligibility for government benefit programs. In addition, the trust must meet four technical conditions to qualify for the “stretch IRA” which is critical for your child’s finances after you are gone.

Tax-Savvy Optimization for You Is Critical

The area that few parents know is the benefits of Roth IRA conversions for both them and their child. It isn’t a matter of opinion―it is a matter of math. We “run the numbers” and present you with the results as well as the reasoning based on our peer reviewed methodology.

We also cover other important but frequently overlooked tax strategies including establishing ABLE accounts. Plus, for the right family we cover lesser-known strategies that have the potential to save families tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes.