Next in Line is a weekly newsletter for advisors, brought to you by Herbie, covering the practical yet consequential interaction between estate planning and family dynamics.
For most parents, estate planning is an exercise in optimism: name your children, choose who will care for them, decide who gets what, and move on. For families with children who have special circumstances, it can feel very different.
Consider Jen and Tom. Their daughter Emma has a developmental disability and will likely need help managing money and important decisions for the rest of her life. Their son Jack has struggled with addiction, with periods of sobriety followed by relapses.
Jen and Tom face very different questions:
For Emma: How can they leave her an inheritance without jeopardizing benefits or placing financial responsibilities on her that she cannot manage?
For Jack: How can they provide for him without putting a large sum of money immediately within reach if he relapses—or allowing others to take advantage of him?
The parents have delayed updating their estate plan. But avoiding the question does not eliminate the problem. It simply leaves the decision to circumstances—and potentially to a court—when the family has the least ability to influence the outcome.