From the Wall Street Journal
According to Chris Sullivan, manager of special-needs financial services for
Merrill Lynch, parents of children with severe disabilities should also turn to
a financial adviser and an attorney to create a lifeline for their child.

This is especially critical for families of children who are unlikely to be
able to support themselves as adults and who may never be able to live
independently.

According to Sullivan, who was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal in an
article published in February 2007, on average parents need to accumulate
$350,000 to $400,000 to ensure that personal care will be provided for the rest
of their child's adult years.

But it’s not all about how you accumulated savings. There are pitfalls to avoid.

Disabled individuals typically receive benefits from government sources such
as Supplemental Security Income and
Medicaid. To avoid threatening those
sources of support, a Special Needs Trust can be established. Despite the many benefits of a trust, only
about 12% of parents have established such protection according to Metlife’s
Division of Estate Planning for Special Kids.

Of even greater concern is that the Metlife survey found that only about
one-third of parents with special needs children have done any type of planning
for their kids after their own deaths.

It only takes $2,000 in the child’s name to threaten the governmental aid,
so gifts from well-meaning relatives need to be carefully directed.

Yes, establishing a Special Needs Trust involves making difficult decisions,
such as selecting a guardian for the child. Yet completing the Trust often provides a great deal of peace of
mind.

Both Merrill Lynch and Metlife offer free consultations with their special
needs advisors. Their income comes from
selling life insurance and managing assets.

Saving money for a need thirty or forty years in the future may be fairly
easy to accomplish; taking care of immediate needs may not be so simple. Costs for going care of a young child can
make the thought of saving money for any reason in any amount appear
impossible.

For help with current expenses and care, parents need to be willing to ask
for help. The hospital, all local social
service agencies and the Internet might lead you to assistance from unexpected
sources. Several States have
catastrophic illness support funds, for example.

New
  Jersey

, for example, gives away about $8 million a
year (www.nj.gov/humanservices).

Some other resources to consider include:

www.specialneedsalliance.com

www.naela.com (National Association of
Elder Law Attorneys

www.totalmerrill.ml.com/specialneeds

www.metlifeiseasier.com/metdesk