7 ms·

You should also look into an able account. Your son can have up to 100k in assets invested in what's basically a 529 for people with disabilities. It can go t

You should also look into an able account. Your son can have up to 100k in assets invested in what's basically a 529 for people with disabilities. It can go towards housing and food. Get them on snap as well. Every little bit helps.

cogman10 3y ago
They aren't very old, so whether or not an able account is a good idea will depend on if they can manage money as an adult. The issue with able accounts is they are under the sole control of the account holder with few checks in place. Further, crossing that 100k line really sucks. If they let the funds ride and they appreciate past that level, they can lose their qualifications for Medicare/SS. For now, there's no rush, but it's something I've considered.
- zie 3y ago
  As you approach $100k in assets, you get into special needs trusts.
  - cogman10 3y ago
    Right, but what happens when I die and there's 90k in the account? In 2->5 years, you'll need to start rolling money into the SNT, yet the only person that can do that is my kid. What if they don't have the wherewithal to know they have to do that? Able works if my kid can make ok financial decisions. It's a bad idea if they can't.
    - zie 3y ago
      If they can't make OK financial decisions, it doesn't really matter does it? There are 2 choices: - Either you set it all up ahead of time and they have someone you trust to watch over them after you are gone. - They get shunted into the system and whatever happens, happens.
      - cogman10 3y ago
        I didn't say I'm not preparing things. I'm saying an able account isn't a slam dunk. An able account, if mismanaged, can disqualify my kid from Medicare. That means costly and time consuming legal intervention to correct while my kid misses out on medical care they need. The third option is waiting on the able account (not the SNT). There's little harm in waiting.
        zie 3y ago
        Of course it's not a slam dunk, but it's literally the best and (besides the complicated SNT) only option. Obviously, if you go over the limit, they would be disqualified while the balance is over. Again, I think you are way over-thinking this: - If the kid is responsible enough to handle it, then there is no problem. - If the kid isn't responsible enough, then someone will be the responsible party. - If you don't know if the kid is responsible enough yet, then you assume they aren't for the time being. No problem arises regardless of the state of their financial responsibility. It's not rocket science. As for waiting or not, that's your call, but you want compounding to work in your favour. Our current plan is ABLE and start the SNT hassle up as we approach the limit(which hopefully will go up before we reach it).
- wing-_-nuts 3y ago
  If they're unable to manage it themselves, they'd need to have it managed by someone with power of attorney. That can probably be the manager of the SNT if you have one of those as well. Actually the SNT trustee can probably transfer funds from the SNT to the able account as needed. I'm not a lawyer, so it'd probably be good to talk to one about this.

cogman10 3y ago

They aren't very old, so whether or not an able account is a good idea will depend on if they can manage money as an adult. The issue with able accounts is they are under the sole control of the account holder with few checks in place. Further, crossing that 100k line really sucks. If they let the funds ride and they appreciate past that level, they can lose their qualifications for Medicare/SS. For now, there's no rush, but it's something I've considered.

zie 3y ago
As you approach $100k in assets, you get into special needs trusts.
- cogman10 3y ago
  Right, but what happens when I die and there's 90k in the account? In 2->5 years, you'll need to start rolling money into the SNT, yet the only person that can do that is my kid. What if they don't have the wherewithal to know they have to do that? Able works if my kid can make ok financial decisions. It's a bad idea if they can't.
  - zie 3y ago
    If they can't make OK financial decisions, it doesn't really matter does it? There are 2 choices: - Either you set it all up ahead of time and they have someone you trust to watch over them after you are gone. - They get shunted into the system and whatever happens, happens.
    - cogman10 3y ago
      I didn't say I'm not preparing things. I'm saying an able account isn't a slam dunk. An able account, if mismanaged, can disqualify my kid from Medicare. That means costly and time consuming legal intervention to correct while my kid misses out on medical care they need. The third option is waiting on the able account (not the SNT). There's little harm in waiting.
      - zie 3y ago
        Of course it's not a slam dunk, but it's literally the best and (besides the complicated SNT) only option. Obviously, if you go over the limit, they would be disqualified while the balance is over. Again, I think you are way over-thinking this: - If the kid is responsible enough to handle it, then there is no problem. - If the kid isn't responsible enough, then someone will be the responsible party. - If you don't know if the kid is responsible enough yet, then you assume they aren't for the time being. No problem arises regardless of the state of their financial responsibility. It's not rocket science. As for waiting or not, that's your call, but you want compounding to work in your favour. Our current plan is ABLE and start the SNT hassle up as we approach the limit(which hopefully will go up before we reach it).
wing-_-nuts 3y ago
If they're unable to manage it themselves, they'd need to have it managed by someone with power of attorney. That can probably be the manager of the SNT if you have one of those as well. Actually the SNT trustee can probably transfer funds from the SNT to the able account as needed. I'm not a lawyer, so it'd probably be good to talk to one about this.