Episode #59: Financial Planning for Special Needs Children
How Families Can Ensure Their Child with Disabilities Has a Secure Financial Future
Show Notes:
In this episode of the Water Prairie Chronicles, your host, Tonya Wollum, speaks with financial planner Amit Chawla about the importance of financial planning for families with special needs individuals. Drawing on his personal experience of having a son with a disability, Chawla highlights the need for proactive planning to ensure that parents are adequately prepared for their child’s future financial needs. He provides valuable information on government benefits such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, as well as misconceptions about financial planning for individuals with disabilities. Chawla emphasizes the importance of seeking guidance and resources from government agencies and nonprofit organizations, and planning for the worst-case scenario. He also suggests finding other ways to fund their child’s needs, such as utilizing resources like nonprofit organizations or community support. Overall, Chawla’s interview underscores the crucial role financial planning plays in ensuring that families with special needs individuals can provide the best care and support possible.
Connect with Amit:
Podcast: https://planningforspecialneeds.podbean.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MySpecialFP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/MySpecialFP/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/my-special-financial-planning/
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PlanningForSpecialNeeds
** My Special Financial Planning is a Financial Planning service for the Special Needs community. Pro Bono if you are not earning over $100K/year individually or $125K/year as a family, and have savings of less than $250K.
Waiver programs: https://www.kidswaivers.org/, It provides details of all waiver programs (by state) for children with disabilities or medical needs. Some of these waivers consider family income and some don’t.
Connect with Us: https://linktr.ee/waterprairie
Support this channel: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/waterprairie
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Music Used: “LazyDay” by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Artist: http://audionautix.com/
Meet Today’s Guest:
Amit Chawla is a Software Product Manager and founder of My Special Financial Planning, a financial planning company that focuses on special needs families. He and his wife, an Estate Planning Attorney, have two boys and reside in Lexington, Massachusetts. Their oldest son is 13 years old and has Autism, which led Amit to become a certified financial planner and chartered special needs consultant. Amit’s goal is to help families with special needs members plan for a better future. He volunteers for a couple of non-profit organizations to provide pro bono financial planning services, and he and his wife moderate a private Facebook group called Planning for Special Needs. Amit shares openly about his experience with raising a son on the severe side of the Autism spectrum and how it led him to become a passionate advocate for special needs financial planning.
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