Financially Plan For A Child With A Disability

August 16, 2024

4 minutes read

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The number of children with disabilities is on the rise: According to the Department of Education, 7.5 million children received services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act during the 2022-2023 school year, a figure that accounts for 15% of all students and is the highest number on record.

As Colin Farrell made clear in his recent interview about his own son—who has Angelman syndrome and is nonverbal—caring for a child with a disability is a lifelong commitment, and more parents than ever are worried about their children outliving them. Implementing a long-term financial plan for their care is, therefore, crucial, but it can be hard to know where to begin.

To that end, I recently interviewed financial planner Melissa Weisz; she has a Chartered Special Needs Consultant designation and specializes in working with families who have a loved one with a disability. We first wrote about Weisz last year and she came to the Forbes office last week to break down the difference between the different types of Special Needs Trusts and also tax advantaged ABLE accounts, why it’s advisable for families to consult a financial planner and a lawyer when making these plans, and how to find extra money in a tight budget for a better savings cushion.

“I understand the strain on families, I’ve been there,’’ she says (Weisz has a son on the autism spectrum). “My job as their planner is to integrate—the personal is financial.”

You can watch our full conversation here, and read the 2023 interview with Weisz here.

Cheers!

Maggie McGrath

Exclusive Forbes Profile: This Kinder, Gentler Bill Collector Is Helping People Keep The Lights On

CODY PICKENS FOR FORBES

Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins built Promise into a $520 million powerhouse by helping municipalities and utilities collect unpaid bills with zero-interest payment plans. “We are committed to zero interest. You have to make a decision. Are people not paying because they don’t want to or because they can’t?” Ellis-Lamkins says. “If you fundamentally believe people aren’t paying because they can’t, you can’t charge them 30% interest rates. Thirty percent interest rates are punitive. Who wants to charge interest to someone in pain or struggling?”

ICYMI: News Of The Week

Promise was one of the 25 companies that made the cut for this year’s Next Billion Dollar Startups, the Forbes list of U.S. venture-backed companies most likely to reach a $1 billion valuation. This week marked the release of the 10th annual edition of the list, and not to brag, but our track record in unicorn prognostication is none too shabby: Of the list’s 225 alumni, 131, or 58%, became unicorns, including DoorDash, Figma, Anduril, Benchling and Rippling.

Former YouTube chief and Silicon Valley pioneer Susan Wojcicki died Friday at the age of 56 after a two-year battle with lung cancer. She served as the video sharing platform’s longest-serving CEO during some of its most formative years, and her passing provoked an outpouring of support and condolences from YouTube creators, technology executives, and leaders across the nation.

A ballot measure on legalizing abortion in Missouri officially qualified for the ballot Tuesday, less than a day after a similar measure was made official in Arizona, two of eight states that are now set to have abortion on their November ballot—including some where the procedure is now banned.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate on the presidential ticket is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and he’s received the nickname “Tampon Tim” by some political opponents. ForbesWomen editor Maggie McGrath spoke to the founder and executive director of the Pad Project, Melissa Berton (she was also on the 2021 50 Over 50 list!), about why this nickname isn’t the insult that some people think it is, and also what the world needs to know about menstrual equity in 2024.

IndiGo, one of the largest airlines in the world, has introduced a feature allowing female passengers to select seats next to other female travelers. The Indian airline’s initiative, currently in its pilot phase, enables women to view the gender of other passengers on the seating chart during check-in.

The Checklist

1. Ditch assumptions about work commitment based on family choices. Human resource studies have found that childfree employees are expected to work more overtime than parents are—and other studies indicate that these employees are sometimes viewed as less reliable than their parent counterparts. These stereotypes are lazy at best and harmful at worst; here’s how we can all do better.

2. Get unstuck. After a few years, even the most exciting job can start to feel a bit routine. But before you consider job hopping, consider one of these three strategies instead.

3. Batch your emails. According to McKinsey, the average professional spends about 28% of their workday reading and responding to emails—which adds up to more than 11 hours per week. Continuously checking this deluge can waste your time and break your focus on more important work. Instead, consider breaking the time in your inbox into just two or three daily batches.

The Quiz

A struggling women’s clothing retailer saw an 18% bump to its share price after announcing it would bring on a new CEO, Hillary Super, who formerly led Rihanna’s brand, Savage X Fenty. Which retailer made the hire?