Law Office of Phillip J. Cohn, LLC
Special Education & Juvenile Law
The Special Needs Parent Checklist
Confidential,
Trusted, &
Committed
Parents Should Carefully Review and Prepare Answers to the
Following Checklist of Questions

1. What are my special needs planning goals and objectives?
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2. Have I established the proper special needs planning tools, such as Wills &
Trusts, to meet my special needs planning goals and objectives?
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3. Does my Executor/trix or Guardian have a Letter of Intent which outlines
my wishes for the future care of my child (or other family member)?  
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4. Will this Letter of Intent be passed to others who may eventually care for
my child, should he or she out-live my second caregiver?
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5. Have I established a Trust that is endowed with enough money to assure
that distributions will not consume the principal throughout the beneficiary's
lifetime?
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6. Who should I name as Trustee of the Trust and how will its accounting be
managed?
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7.   How will I fund the trust?
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8.  What, if any, public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
and/or Medicaid, is my child receiving, and, if so, can they be retained?
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