Life Planners™ Newsletter
December 2006
by Mike and Linda Moran

Monthly advice on how to write your child's Letter of Intent,
also known as a Life Plan


Feature Story | Life Plan Tip |
This Month's Question


Your family advisors


As a parent or caregiver, you know what thirty other people know about your child. If you should become unable to care for your disabled child, your appointed guardian will not be able to replace you. Not without lots of help. You will need to direct your guardian to the thirty or so other people who know all the different aspects of your child best. You can do this by listing these people in your Letter of Intent.

There are no rules about who should be on this list and who should not. As a parent or caregiver, you know in your heart who those folks are that could be useful to your child's appointed guardian. Those are the people who care, who will take the time, and perhaps who have some specialized knowledge about your child. For example, if your child dances in a special-needs dance class, run by a passionate teacher who loves your child, that teacher could be on your list of family advisors.

Consider whether you would like to notify each person that they are on your list. Use your discretion, and remember that it's not a must to notify them. Some folks may be frightened by the discussion of a Letter of Intent. Legally, you don't need to notify them ahead of time that they appear in your Life Plan.

Make people-finding as easy as possible for the person who will read this section. Include phone numbers, e-mail addresses, snail mail addresses, who the person is in your child's life, and any other information that you think might be helpful.

The family advisor list can also include names of people and organizations that don't know you or your child personally, but have some specialized knowledge that could help your appointed guardian. Any of the family advisors listed in the Family Advisors section might also appear in other sections of your Life Plan.

Below is a sample Family Advisors section taken from a real Life Plan. Some of the identifying information has been changed. This section could be considerably longer in your Life Plan.


Sample Family Advisors section:


We are blessed with several excellent advisors for legal and financial questions.

Attorney
Our attorney is G. Harris Lawton of 25 Spring Valley Avenue in Paramus, New Jersey. Harris's phone number is 201-322-0404. Harris drew up all of our wills and trusts and is a renowned expert in disability trusts. He will be able to help you with any legal question. If you have a legal question about disabilities or these wills and trusts, it is critical to use Harris rather than your own family lawyer. Daniel's trust will pay for all legal costs.
Accountant
Our accountant is Henry Sussman, one of the partners at Watkins, Clemans, and Sussman, a small accounting firm. His address is 190 Lincoln Avenue in Dumont. His phone number is 201-544-8791. Henry is an old family friend who does our taxes each year and manages all of our investments as our financial planner. Henry should be able to handle any tax questions you may have, but it would be fine if you wanted to get advice from your own accountant instead. It isn't a good idea to handle the family trust without an accountant, however. Daniel's trust will pay for all accounting costs.
Prior to engaging Henry, our accountant was Samuel Miller, the owner of Miller and Company, a small accounting firm. His address is 49 Hatlow Street in Edison, New Jersey. His phone number is 732-334-8300. Samuel is an old college friend of mine and did the family's taxes for years, but never managed any of our investments.
Estate Planner
We have not retained an estate planner, but Henry Sussman can help with these questions as part of his role as financial planner.
Disability Advisors
There are several organizations and friends that can be very helpful in providing information for dealing with Daniel's disability:



This month's Life Plan tip:
Take one step toward organization.


Is your Letter of Intent some scraps of paper? Perhaps it's time to put it all in a binder. Is your Letter of Intent entirely in your head and not written down yet? Start writing. Or perhaps you're well on your way, but all the related scraps of paper are in a pile on your desk. Then take steps to file them in a filing cabinet or drawer somewhere in your house. And be sure to mention in each relevant section of your Letter of Intent where those papers can be found.

Assess where you are in your organization today, and take just one step toward more organization. Ask yourself, "Will this organizational step assist my child's appointed guardian in best serving my child's needs? Remember, a Life Plan, or Letter of Intent, is a document that's heart-driven.



This month's featured question: Can I let my lawyer write the Letter of Intent?


Yes, if your lawyer will do that, but it could be quite expensive. Your lawyer may recommend someone, or you could contact your local disability agency for a referral. However, you won't get out of doing some of the work. Anyone you hire to help you will probably give you some paperwork to fill in yourself. Others can really only help you to set up the structure of your Letter of Intent, and supply some of the wording for the document about how the Letter of Intent should be used. But ultimately, you'll still be writing most of the content. After all, only you know which bedtime prayer you say with your child each night.

If you want to drive the project yourself, you could still have your lawyer look at it once you have a substantial amount of your first go-around done, and it will be cheaper than letting your lawyer drive the project. But whoever you choose to help you, they need to be a disability specialist of some kind. Remember that after the initial consultation, you're on your own to keep it updated about twice a year.
A thought to ponder:
"Any mother could perform the jobs
of several air traffic
controllers with ease."

Lisa Alther, published novelist




Feature Story | Life Plan Tip |
This Month's Question

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