Whenever I think of "finances" my eyes glaze over: investments, taxes, dividends, stocks, mutual funds, even planning and wills....Ugh! You'd think something as vital as dollars and cents would hold my attention but it doesn't. But one of my sisters-in-law mentioned how it important it is that families with a disabled child investigate something called a Henson Trust. So I did. The disabled or differently-abled of the world are usually always under-employed and therefore often live in poverty. This is not a happy reality for parents to consider.
A Henson Trust was named after the man who first fought and won his appeal to allow his disabled child to keep her disability cheque despite having benefitted from a trust that he had set up for her. His daughter Audra would not receive any legal claim to the trust but it could potentially pay for her expenses while allowing her to continue to receive disability support payments. I discovered a very helpful document published by TD Wealth that fully explains this trust called "Estate Planning with a Henson Trust". I am sure that your bank probably publishes something similar. It covers the pros and cons in an easy five minute read. The benefits to our disabled daughter are obvious. One of the problems of a Henson Trust is finding a trustee whose interests are not in conflict with the trust such as a sibling. As with all things financial and legal, the assistance of a trusted professional is vital.
My largest worry as a parent of an intellectually disabled child is her financial future. Anything I can do to ensure her security after my husband and I have died is of the utmost interest to me. And sixty-five is looming nearer! So while I generally don't want to think about money, wills and the like, this topic, a Henson Trust is something that I am investigating further. And the sooner the better! Thanks Melanie....
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