Financial planning, ABLE accounts, trusts, and benefits for families with special needs dependents.
Every piece of banking and credit advice assumes you’re managing money for yourself — or maybe for young kids who will eventually grow up and handle their own finances. Nobody writes about what happens when your dependent is 21 and will never manage a bank account on their own. My son has profound autism. He … Read more
Every parenting article about “what it costs to raise a child” uses the same USDA number — roughly $310,000 from birth to 18. Then they assume the job is done. Your kid turns 18, moves out, gets a job, starts their own life. My son is 21. He has profound autism. He can’t read, can’t … Read more
When I started researching financial planning for my son, the first question I kept running into was: “Should I get an ABLE account or a special needs trust?” The answer is both. That’s not a cop-out — it’s the reality. They do different things, protect against different risks, and cover different time horizons. Using one … Read more
Here’s the cruel math of having a special needs child: you need to save more money for their future than most parents, but the government says they can’t have more than $2,000 to their name without losing the benefits that keep them alive. Two thousand dollars. That’s the SSI resource limit. Go one dollar over … Read more
When I first heard about ABLE accounts, it sounded almost too good to be true. A savings account for my disabled son that doesn’t count against his SSI benefits? Sign me up. Then I actually tried to open one. And use one. And figure out the rules that nobody explains in plain English. I’m not … Read more
My son is 21 years old. He has profound autism. He can’t read. He can’t manage money. And the financial planning advice out there for parents like me is either written by lawyers who’ve never lived it or doesn’t exist at all. I’ve spent years trying to figure out how to make sure my son … Read more