Non-Profit Leads Push for Tax Credit for Special Needs Families

A Florida non-profit organization has begun a petition drive urging Congress to offer a tax credit to families of children with special needs to assist with the costs of obtaining guardianship.

Prosperity Life Planning, the organization behind the petition, teaches families of children with special needs how to locate resources for their children while preserving access to government benefits. According to a recent article in US News and World Report, the organization decided to pursue the petition because "families often can't afford to set up a guardianship, which involves court expenses and doctors' fees, so they don't do it."

Once a child turns 18, parents’ legal relationship with the child changes because suddenly it is presumed that the child has the ability to make decisions on her own, regardless of her abilities. At this point, one option is to become the child's legal guardian so that the parents can continue to make the important medical and financial decisions on child’s behalf. The proposed tax credit would give families an incentive to pursue guardianship, which many avoid because of the costs.
Prosperity Life Planning is proposing that a tax credit of up to $5,000 would be available to reimburse families for the legal fees they incur in order to obtain guardianship of their child.

The same tax credit could also be used to help families establish a supplemental needs trust for their child with special needs. These trusts are used to preserve assets for a person with special needs in order to supplement any benefits he receives from the government. According to the proposal, the tax credit should be made available to any family member of a child with special needs who pursues guardianship or intends to draft a supplemental needs trust (especially in situations where a child is being raised by family members other than her parents) and would be tracked using the child's Social Security number, so only one tax credit per child could be used.

Prosperity Life Planning points out that the government already provides numerous tax incentives for programs that benefit the public, including tax-deductible retirement accounts and education tax credits. Prosperity Life Planning argues that families of children with special needs face greater challenges than most with minimal government resources to assist them.

To read more about the tax credit proposal, and to download a statement that you can mail to Prosperity Life Planning to show your support for their initiative, go to www.prosperitylifeplanning.org.

What To Do If You Can't Decide Who To Name As Guardians For Your Kids

There are a lot of parents out there who have not named guardians for their kids because they really can't decide who the guardian should be.

You might be one of them.

But, here's the thing. If you don't decide and something happens to you, the decision gets made by a Judge.

You don't want that, do you?

Here's a few things that may help you decide:

1. Think through on a practical, realistic and non-emotional (to the extent you can) level who would come forward to raise your kids if you were in an accident.

2. Is that who you would want to raise your kids?

3. If not, who would be better than that person or those people?

4. If more than one person would come forward, who
would a Judge pick if the Judge had to decide between all
the people who would come forward?

Bottom line?

If you don't decide, a Judge will. Even your worst choice would be better than that, right?
Call Golowin Legal, LLC for help walking you through the entire process of choosing the right guardians for your kids and then legally document your decisions!

If not knowing who you want to name has been holding you back, don't let it hold you back a second longer.

Do it now. It's Easy. No Excuses.
Golowin Legal helps parents complete their important estate planning documents, including guidance with nominating permanent and temporary guardians for their minor children. Call us today at (614) 453-5208. Visit our website for more information on Naming Guardians for Minor Children.

A Grave Issue of Parenting – Writing Wills and Choosing Guardians

The following article, which appeared in the Orange County Register, features an interview with fellow Personal Family Lawyer Darlynn Morgan of The Morgan Law Group in Newport Beach, California.

Tips for making sure your children are cared for in the event of your death.

"Mommy, what happens after you die?"

It's a question most kids ask at some point – and we may quickly paint a picture of fluffy clouds, golden roads, rainbows and go about our day.

It's a question parents rarely want to truly consider. But ask yourself – what would happen to your kids if you died? Who would take care of them?

"A will may not be enough," says attorney Darlynn Morgan of The Morgan Law Group in Newport Beach. Morgan, a personal family lawyer, offers estate planning tips and advice to parenting and moms' groups, with a particular focus on children.

Here are her tips for ensuring your children's future in the event of your death:

•If both parents can't agree on a suitable guardian for the children, don't give up. Find a mediator who can help you to come to a mutual agreement for the benefit of the kids.

•When you name a couple to act as guardians, be sure to indicate what should happen if the couple broke up or one of the partners in the couple died. You want to ensure your children don't end up in the care of someone you wouldn't really want.

Name several alternate guardians if your first choice can not serve.

•It isn't necessary to take into account the financial resources of potential guardians when deciding who should raise your children. Your guardians are the people who will be in charge of your kids' emotional, spiritual and physical well-being, not necessarily their money.

It's your responsibility to leave enough money behind to take care of your kids either through savings or life insurance, and someone to manage that money if the guardians are not good money managers.

It's also a good idea to provide someone to manage your children's money so a lump sum doesn't go to your children at age 18 – without adult supervision.

•Be sure to name short-term guardians as well as long-term guardians. Short-term guardians will offer immediate care of your kids if you were in an accident. Otherwise, your kids could be taken out of your home and into the arms of strangers (child protective services) until the authorities figure out what to do.

•Be sure to specially name anyone you want excluded as guardians – those who might challenge your decisions or who you would never want raising your kids. (A grandparent or aunt or uncle, for example, who may fight the guardians for custody).

For a list of Morgan's upcoming speaking events, visit Morgan Law Group.

SOURCE: Orange County Register in an article written by CYNTHIA RUPE