Protecting Their Future: Financial Planning For Your Child With Autism

Joshua Sleeper November 10, 2021

When your child is diagnosed with autism, your first thought probably isn’t about planning for their financial future. However, planning for your child’s financial care is just as important as finding holistic, compassionate autism therapy. At Trumpet Behavioral Health, we know that assembling your child’s care team – from medical professionals to insurance specialists – is a key part of feeling secure in your child’s future. In this blog, we’re discussing the importance of assembling a financial planning team that supports you and your child.

What Is A Financial Planning Team?

Your child needs a range of medical professionals to meet their needs – for example, a pediatrician, an ABA therapist, a speech language pathologist, and an occupational therapist. In the same way, your family should have several financial specialists to support your short and long term financial needs as they impact your child’s future. A financial planning team might include:

An attorney
A financial advisor
A government benefit specialist

These professionals can collaborate with each other and with your child’s medical providers to ensure your family receives the financial support you deserve. And just like you communicate frequently with your child’s medical team, it’s key that you touch base with your financial professionals on your team on a regular basis.

Assembling An Autism Financial Planning Team

While it’s crucial to have a financial planning team for your child with autism, assembling that team can feel challenging. It’s ok if you’re not sure where to start – at Trumpet Behavioral Health, we’re here to support you through this process. We collaborate with financial planning services, companies, and professionals to provide you with information and referrals. Here are a few ways to start assembling your autism financial support team:

Determine which professionals are missing from your team and prioritize your needs. We recommend you include an attorney, therapist, financial planner, government benefits specialist on your team.
Seek several referrals for professionals. You can ask other parents, Trumpet Behavioral Health, or your current team for recommendations.
Interview the referrals and determine which ones are a good fit based on the interview. Some good questions to ask:
1. Are you a fiduciary? A fiduciary is often a good choice, as they are held to higher standards of care than financial advisors and must always act in your best interest.
2. What are your credentials? Financial advisors are required to pass certification tests.
3. What experience do you have working with special needs families?
4. Are you also an insurance specialist?
Choose the professional and set up a meeting to begin working together and building your relationship.

You can also search US News’s online database of financial advisors, or research financial professionals on the The National Association of Personal Financial Advisors’ website. While it might feel challenging to start assembling your financial planning team, just remember that you’re not alone. Your team at Trumpet is here to help you along this process, and we’re here to answer any questions you may have.

How A Financial Planning Team Supports Your Family

While a financial planning team works with your family in a range of ways, one of the most important is in supporting your financial future. When you first meet with a financial planner, you’ll likely have an initial discussion to discuss your goals, including personal, professional, and financial. Your financial planner will then build your personal financial plan for these goals, including your wants and needs for your child with autism. As your autism financial support team executes your plan, they will continue to touch base with you, answering any questions and advising you on implementation. And to provide you with security and peace of mind, your financial planning team will help you plan for continuing support for your child when you can no longer be the caregiver. Your team ultimately provides a lifecycle approach to financial planning, forming a lifelong relationship with your family.

A Comprehensive Planning Process

Additionally, your family’s financial planner can work alongside your CPA and estate attorney to help you align your savings and investment to support your financial goals and protect your assets. This holistic, comprehensive approach to financial planning involves communication and coordination between you, your child’s care teams, and your financial planners, and can provide you with a sense of peace, knowing that your child’s financial future is secure.

The Importance Of Financial Planning

Assembling a holistic, comprehensive care team for your child with autism involves many financial and medical professionals. And while it might feel challenging to assemble an autism financial support team, the team Trumpet Behavioral Health is here to help. We can provide referrals to financial advisors, and we’ll help you research and connect with financial professionals who can work with you to access the many benefits available to your family. It’s important to feel secure about your financial future, and to begin the process of long term estate planning. With a financial planning team by your side, you can feel confident in the knowledge that your child’s financial future is secure.