Q&A With ASNP Co-Founder on Special Needs Planning

Academy of Special Needs Planners co-founder Harry S. Margolis was recently interviewed by Vanguard Investments about planning for people with special needs. The interview, which is posted on Vanguard's website, touches on many of the important things that parents of children with special needs should consider when beginning the planning process.

For instance, Margolis points out that life insurance is usually a good idea for families who do not have the resources to completely fund a special needs trust during life. While using life insurance in this manner is a fairly common planning technique, Margolis goes on to emphasize that other family members may be able to help pay for life insurance premiums, thereby stretching the benefit for a person with special needs.

Margolis also discusses some of the things to consider when appointing a trustee for a special needs trust, including naming co-trustees, with one trustee being a family member and another being a professional trustee. Although the interview is not very long, it provides families with a good list of things to think about before, during and after meeting with a special needs planner.

Read the interview on the Vanguard website in full.