The Complete Guide to Creating a Special Needs Life Plan: A Comprehensive Approach Integrating Life, Resource, Financial and Legal Planning to Ensure a Brighter Future for a Person with a Disability

The book is comprehensive and written for the layperson. But it has enough information to be useful for professionals as well. The chapters on envisioning life for a special needs person are very good with outlines/checklists to consider when creating a plan.

Not at the top of the list, but worth your time.

very helpful in planning for the future

GreatBook, has alot of information people need.

Carefully covers all the aspects of creating a life plan for a person with special needs. Thorough & easy to understand

The strength of this book is also its qualified weakness: the ambitious intent to be completely comprehensive. It is best approached as a reference book rather than to be read cover to cover. Mr. Wright provides a helpful breadcrumb trail through a huge forest of material by beginning each chapter with a few takeaways that he wants you to ensure you focus on. Almost each topic has an action item checklist that can be a useful guide as well.One idea for improvement would be to bifurcate the financial planning material for those with high net worth families from the typical situation of folks. The sad reality (in my anecdotal experience) is that the vast majority of families who have someone with special needs tend to be in the lower strata of household income and wealth. And yet these folks still need a special needs trust even if their net worth is low. I'm thinking of something along the lines of "If your net worth is largely defined by the equity in your home and there are no IRAs involved, then here's the least that you must do to take care of your special needs family member." I think that the ideas for high net worth families are valuable but it might flow better if they were balkanized into one chapter in the Special Circumstances part.A minor technical quibble: page 138 refers to avoiding the application of the one-third reduction rule of the SSI benefit by having the special needs adult tenant pay rent to relative landlord in an amount "equal to the one-third reduction." To be more precise, the rent should be one-third of the Federal Benefit Rate plus general income inclusion as defined by 20 CFR 416.1124(c)(12) (currently $20). (also known as the presumed maximum value. 20 CFR 416.1140). Paying PMV in rent to relative landlord forestalls the application of the one-third reduction rule only in states located in the Second and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeal and Texas. See Jackson v. Schweiker, 683 F.2d 1076, 1085 (7th Cir. 1982), Ruppert v. Bowen, 871 F.2d 1172 (2d Cir. 1989), Adeline Diaz, et al. v. Chater, Northern District of Texas. In all other states, the SSA assumes that the beneficiary receives in kind maintenance and support when paying rent to a relative landlord. The rental subsidy is assumed and the one-third reduction rule is applied unless the beneficiary affirmatively challenges the SSA by documenting the actual value received is less than the PMV. For what it's worth, I am seeking to litigate this issue on behalf of my stepson and am going to explore the viability of seeking class action certification to fix this unequal treatment of SSI beneficiaries throughout the United States. Judge Payne does an excellent job explaining this issue in Ragsdale v. Apfel, 99 F. Supp 814, (U.S. Dist. Ed. Vir. 1998)Another tremendous advantage of this book is the end of chapter references in the Where to Go for More Information sidebars. It helps bridge the gap between this book's intent to touch briefly on everything but allowing you to seek additional books when you need learn something in more depth. It also shows the amount of care and preparation the author took as part of his process. This reviewer, by contrast, has not read widely in this area so I am unable to offer comparative comments on other special needs planning books.In sum, a valuable reference book that can get you started with creating a path towards preparing you to create the best situation possible for your special needs family member for both the short and long-term, as well as preparing for your unforeseen emergency incapacity.

Hal Wright starts in the right place: a life plan for a child with special needs. Know your child. Talk with family members. Consult people who have been down this road already. Consider options for the future. Then use this book to follow the steps to implement a plan. Wright is thorough, up-to-date and clear. And daunting! Reading this book makes one want to rush out and find financial and legal help immediately.

If you have a child with disabilities, read this book. From the person-centered approach to the "Twelve things to remember" if you remember nothing else, here is a well organized, easy to read guide with real life case studies that provides care givers with a clear path through the tangled web of housing, employment, health care, government benefits, and financial planning- all critical for your child's success.Matt McConville