Guardianship and Special Needs Planning

For families with minor children or adult family members with disabilities, estate planning carries a responsibility that goes beyond asset distribution. The question is not just where your estate goes, it’s who takes care of the people who depend on you, and how their needs will be met long after you’re gone.

Guardianship planning designates who will care for your minor children if something happens to you before they reach adulthood. It should be reflected in your will, clearly and specifically, naming both a primary guardian and an alternate. This is one of the most important decisions a parent makes, and one of the most commonly deferred because it requires confronting scenarios that are hard to think about. But if the designation isn’t in place and something happens, the decision moves to a Georgia probate court.

Special needs planning addresses a more complex set of circumstances: ensuring that a family member with a disability continues to receive care and resources without an inheritance disqualifying them from the government benefits, Medicaid, SSI, and others, they depend on. A direct inheritance to a person receiving these benefits can disrupt or eliminate eligibility. A properly structured special needs trust, by contrast, can provide supplemental resources without affecting benefit eligibility. The trust must be carefully drafted to stay within the rules that govern these programs, rules that vary and that require attention to get right.

Victoria approaches guardianship and special needs planning with the seriousness these situations require. For families working through these questions, the plan is personal, and it deserves an attorney who takes the time to understand the family’s actual situation and build a plan that addresses it.