108 Wild Basin Road, Suite 250
Austin, Texas 78746
512.330.9802
425 RR 2900
Kingsland, Texas 78639
325.388.7100
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Trig

What a difference a week makes. Last week the mention of “trig” merely brought back memories of a high school math class. Now “Trig” makes us think of the special child of Todd and Sarah Palin. Who among us didn’t laugh or at least smile when, on national TV, his sister Robin licked her palm and used it to smooth his hair.  If you missed it, click here.

Trig Palin is not the first special person who had a close relative in national politics. George McGovern’s daughter Terry was afflicted with chronic alcoholism and John F. Kennedy’s sister Rose Marie was reduced to profound incapacity by a lobotomy gone wrong.

Forty years ago, a special child like Trig would have been unlikely to reach adulthood. With the medical care available today in the USA, however, a child with Down Syndrome no longer has a shortened life expectancy. As a result of these medical advances, many of our special children are now likely to outlive their parents. Adults with special needs are very likely to be unable to be self-supporting and to depend on government support for medical, housing, and other needs.

For these special people, special planning is essential because conventional estate planning can lead to results that are completely unanticipated to their benefactors and can even be detrimental to the special person. For example, an outright bequest to a special adult can cause ineligibility for subsidized housing, forcing the special person to move out. Then, when the bequest is exhausted, the special person will be at the end of the waiting list to get back into subsidized housing. Talk about a “Catch 22”!

If there is a special person in your life, whether a child or an adult and regardless of what it is that creates his or her special needs, we can help with the special planning that is necessary to best provide for and protect him or her for life. Give us a call. Make an appointment for a Family Wealth Planning Session to explore your current plan and whether it meets your needs and your special person needs. We’ll be glad to hear from you! Our standard charge for a Family Wealth Planning Session is $750, but we will waive it for anyone who calls or contacts us through this web site within 10 days of the date of this blog posting.

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