Legacy

Texas Parent Training in Special Education

If you're new to special education and need some help figuring out what the heck you've been thrown into, try this group - http://www.partnerstx.org/

It is a federally funded resource to help parents navigate IDEA (the special education law) and leanr how to participate in their child's educational development.

How to Be a Pro in and ARD Meeting

Parents, are you about to have another ARD meeting for your child?  Do you feel underprepared and outnumbered by the school's special education personnel? Are you worried that your child's true needs will get lost in the shuffle?

A little bit of knowledge about the special education ARD and IEP process is really helpful to your particpation in these meetings, but you do not have to be an expert by any means.  Even a little knowledge can be used to get great results from a school that might otherwise treat your meeting - and your child - as formality to get checked off the to-do list.  You just have to know the right questions to ask to bump the busy school folks into focusing on your child's program.

Here are your secret weapons.  Ask these questions whenever appropriate and insist on proper answers, and make sure all members get a chance to answer, including the classroom teacher.  You'll find that you and the rest of the ARD committee can craft a great IEP - and you don't even have to be able to cite legal codes!

The parents’ best friends are these questions:

 

·     How would you implement that?

·     What would you need to make that happen?

·     What other ideas do you have?

·     Is there any person in the district that might have more information on this?

·     What training on this is available to these personnel?

·     Where will that be written in the IEP?

 

And last but not least: Do we need more information before a decision can be made? (why or why not?)

Death and Facebook

Writing a will is hard enough for most people.  But actually planning for death is much more than writing a will - it requires an understanding of what you own and then choosing a plan for all those possessions.  Celebrities these days even have to do business planning that extends into their death.  Michael Jackson will earn more than most living people this year, and Elvis Presley has been outearning his living body for years. 

Of course, the average person doesn't expect to earn money after death, but the average person does now own online accounts that may continue after death.  Although email accounts are important, social network sites pose a unique issue because others can continue to post items that are visible to others and yet uncontrolled by the owner after death, unless there is a plan about what to do with these accounts.

Every social network site has it's own rules, often made on an ad hoc basis as questions arise.  Others, such as Facebook, have now adopted specific written policies ( http://www.facebook.com/help.php?page=842 ) .  But again, every site is different, and most do not release account access to family members without a specific court order. Some won't release access even with a court order.

So, when doing your estate planning, include an inventory of all your online accounts.  Consider whether anyone NEEDS access (for example, if you receive bills by email your executor will have to access the email account), and whether you want anyone to have access to other accounts.  Leave appropriate instructions and password information for those accounts that you want to be handled.  

Getting Teachers to Follow the IEP

If you have a student in middle or high school, then your child probably has a number of different teachers.  While each teacher is responsible for following all relevant parts of yoru child's IEP, and the school is responsible for letting the teachers know that, as a practical matter it can be tough for all the teachers to get the information.

So add this to your ARD meetings checklist: after an ARD meeting, send a brief note to each of the teachers letting them know the ARD just met and that the IEP contains some things the teacher needs to know about.  Depending on what the information is, you can tell them and also encourage them to go take a look at the IEP, or you can simply say they need to take a look and talk to the special ed teacher in charge for any questions. 

Naming Fiduciaries

When you do your estate planning, one of the biggest decisions you will make is who you will place in various positions of trust to handle your affairs.  This is the list of positions you may need to fill, and what each of them does.

Executor: this is the person responsible for winding up your worldly affairs and carrying out the instructions in your will.  This person will pay your final bills, find and contact your creditors, close your accounts, take care of your possessions and business until they can be sold or handed over to your heirs, and make decisions about how and when to distribute your estate.  The executor can hire people to help, such as an attorney, a tax accountant, a financial consultant, etc., but all the decisions are made by the executor.

You should name two or more executors who can serve if the first person you name cannot serve.  You can also name co-executors, but that can be tricky as the two people will have to be able to cooperate with each other.

If you don’t name an executor, or if no one you named can serve, the court will appoint one. However, a court appointed executor must post bond.

Guardians: If you have children under 18, you will want to name guardians for them.  There are several different scenarios.

·     If there is another parent alive, they will be put into the physical care of the parent, even if you name a different person.  If there are unusual circumstances, such as a parent who is incarcerated, has a history of abuse, or is mentally incapacitated, you should talk to your attorney about options for your children.

·     If there is another parent, but you are divorced or have never married the parent, that parent will get physical custody of your children, but you can create a trust for any money you may leave your children.  You can then name a trustee who will have discretion to distribute the money for the care of your child, and to distribute the money to the child as you instruct after the child reaches 18 or an older age.  You will want to name a trustee who is organized, trustworthy, and, preferably, knows you or your child.  However, if there is a large amount of money, you can name a bank or corporate trustee and appoint a family member or friend to act as consultant to the trustee in deciding how to use the money for your child.

·     If there is no other parent, you will name a guardian to take care of your child.  This person will be responsible for caring for and bringing up your child, and will have all the abilities that you as the parent have.  You can name an individual or a couple. If you name a couple, you must specify whether the guardianship changes if the couple is no longer married.  For example, you want your sister to raise your child, and so you name “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” as your guardians.  But suppose sister dies?  Did you really want her husband to raise your child even if your sister was no longer around?  Be clear about your wishes.

·     If there is no other parent, you will also have to name someone to take care of your child’s money.  This can be the same person you named as guardian to raise the child, but often it is not.  You may have one sibling who would be a wonderful parent, but is not very good at handling money.  You can name another sibling to act as trustee for your child. 

·     You do not need to name a family member as guardian or trustee.

·     If you fail to name a guardian for your children, the court will appoint one.  Guardians in this case are usually close family members.

Power of Attorney: if you create a power of attorney for yourself, you will need to name someone whom you trust to take care of your personal and financial affairs.  This power can be used at any time you cannot take care of your own affairs, whether or not you are actually disabled.  However, this power ends at your death. Only the executor of your will can handle your estate.

Medical Power of Attorney: You may name a person who can make medical decisions for you if a doctor certifies that you are not able to make your own decisions.  You can also name alternates who can serve if others that you name are not able to do so.

NOTE:  All information provided is based upon Texas law.  Details may differ in other states.

Emergency Preparedness Tips for People with Disabilities

If you have a child with a disability, could you evacuate quickly if there were a wildfire nearby?  Could you take cover if a tornado warning were issued?  Would your medical equipment be safe in the event of a flood?

The Red Cross and the US Government offer tips and information on planning for just such emergencies.  You can find it here.

My Stove Didn't Blow Up

I used to have a little piece of paper taped up on the wall over my desk that I drew during a management training session one time. We were being "trained" on time management and prioritization, and the box was a little matrix we were told to draw.  The idea was that all possible activites that you could engage in on any given day fall into one of four quadrants in the box based on the intersection of the activity's importance and urgency.  It looked like this (minus the actual box):

Quadrant One: not urgent and not important

Quadrant Two: urgent but not important

Quadrant Three: important but not urgent

Quadrant Four: Important and Urgent

Allegedly, once you categorized your activities for the day, it would be obvious how to prioritize them. 

Estate planning, writing a will, and setting up a special needs trust for disabled children is on the to-do list of every parent who has a disabled child.  But there are still many who have not gotten around to completing that task.  Ask any one of these parents and they will tell you that the task is important to them, and to the future of their child.  They all easily place the task in the "important" category. 

So why doesn't it also make the "urgent" quadrant?  Well, there are a lot of other urgent activities on the list - making dinner, going to work, taking the kids to appointments, sleep, relaxing, watching "Dancing with the Stars," grocery shopping, dealing with your parents' family crisis - - - you get the picture.  Estate planning is important, but it falls behind in urgency, because you're young, you're healthy, you don't have a terminal illness . . .

The truth is, estate planning is urgent because death nearly always come unexpectedly.  Most deaths of young people are from accidents.  In fact, if a parent of minor children is going to die, it is much more likely the death will be by accident than by illness.  And accidents are, by definition, unpredictable and happen unexpectedly.  Which means that the need for a will and other planning documents is much more urgent when you are young than when you are elderly, because death is, literally, possible tomorrow.

Oh, and what about my stove, you ask?  Two days ago my house suddenly filled up with the smell of natural gas (actually, it filled withthe scent they put in the naturally odorless gas so that you can tell when it is leaking into the air).  I spent the following two days working my way through the fire department, plumbers, and a stove repairman to return my house to a safe state. And it is now safe again - for now.  But it could have blown up. Unplanned.  Suddenly. And with possibly tragic consequences.  Which means that three days ago it would have been urgent for me to make sure my will was current and updated.  But I didn't know that three days ago.  I only knew that my estate planning is always urgent because I have no way of knowing when my stove will blow up.

Financial Safety for New Adults

Letting your kids fly into the world on their own is scary enough without also knowing they don't have the knowledge to make good financial decisions.  Only 53% of parents think their kids have real financial skills, according to a survey from the Consumer Federation of America.  I'm sure those other 47% of parents worry about their kids - but what about the parents whose children simply don't have the ability to learn good financial skills? 

Having a child with a disability means parents must not only teach what they can, but must take additional steps to keep their children safe in the world. When your child is approaching their 18th birthday, start thinking about putting powers of attorney into place that will let you either handle or assist with your child's financial affairs.   Powers of attorney allow the designated person to handle any business or transaction that your child could do, but your child still has the right to do everything as well.

In some cases a guardianship is the right way to go.  A guardianship not only designates someone to make decisions and handle business for your child, but also removes the right of the child to make any decisions (or decisions in the specific areas the guardianship covers). 

If your child with a disability is within 6 months of turning 18 years of age, you should consult an attorney about putting together an appropriate plan to transition your child into adulthood.

Is Your Child With a Disability Ready for 18?

Parenting is a lifelong commitment, but for parents of children with special needs, you may not even notice the entry into adulthood - well, except for the paperwork that goes along with it.  If your child is approaching age 18 and will not be able to fully take over their own care, here's a checklist to use in preparing for the legal needs after your child's big day:

• If you receive child support, make sure the support order extends past age 18.  If not, get a modification now
• Apply for social security and medicaid benefits.  If your child is already receiving these, contact the SSA about the impending birthday
• look into whether you will need a legal guardian appointed, or if your child should sign a power of attorney
• if your child has a trust fund that will be distributed on his/her 18th birthday, look into creating a new trust for the protection of your child

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Saving SSI in a Divorce

If you have a child with a disability, you must take that into account when designing a divorce and child support agreement so that your child does not lose out on benefits.  Make sure you tell your attorney if your child is receiving SSI, or is likely to continue to need support and receive SSI after the age of 18.  

Your child may be able to receive child support into adulthood if there is a disability.  However, if the court order is not properly drafted, your child may lose benefits that they might otherwise be able to receive. 

If you have already divorced and did not consider the effect of a child's disability, you may be able to modify the order before the child turns 18.