Insider Newsletter Archive

Recently, I was speaking with a single income couple who were asking me about how much life insurance the husband should have based on their family’s needs to care for their autistic son. We went through some analysis, then I asked him what he would do if something happened to his wife and she was not there to care for his son. I could tell he had not seriously considered it as he was suddenly pondering this nightmare scenario. A key point that is often overlooked in Special Needs planning is the amount of insurance needed to cover the primary care giver to your child. Most traditional insurance agents stress the need to replace the income from the primary breadwinner. But in the case of a family where dad stays home to care for an autistic child and mom is the primary income provider, consider what would happen to the household if dad passed away. First, who will drive her son to speech and occupational therapy 3 days a week? When the school day ends, who will be home to go over the days lesson with her son and work on the daily living skills needed to be learned? Traditional child care is often not an alternative for parents of special needs children. A death in the family will cause a major disruption to the household. Funds will be needed to provide continuity to your child’s life. (Therapy, education, transportation, vocation, etc) If you would like further information on this topic, e-mail me or call me at 612-889-9959.