Many families with a special needs child or grandchild either have simple wills in place providing for the child to receive property and assets upon death, have named the special needs child as a beneficiary of their life insurance policies and retirement accounts, or perhaps have no will at all. This can be a costly mistake. If you have a child, whether a minor or adult, who is unable to provide for themselves or is incapable of making financial decisions due to mental or physical incapacities and you do not have a trust for that child in place upon your death, it may be necessary to appoint a guardian and/or conservator over your child and his estate, which can be a lengthy and expensive court proceeding. Also, if your child is receiving public assistance such as SSI or Medicaid when he inherits assets, this can make your child ineligible to receive those benefits or may prevent him from qualifying for such programs in the future. Government benefits generally provide for only bare necessities and while you most likely want to leave money for your child that would allow him to enjoy a richer quality of life, doing so can make him ineligible for those benefits. A properly drafted Special Needs Trust (also known as a Supplemental Needs Trust) can be established either during your lifetime or by your will upon your death which can allow your child to continue to receive public assistance while still having access to money from your estate to be used for supplemental and extra care that is not provided by the government. An attorney knowledgable in this area can advise you on how best to provide for your child upon your death and can draft a Special Needs Trust for your child which can allow your child to receive money for his benefit while preserving his benefits from needs-based government programs. Contemplating no longer being around to care for your children is always a difficult thing to think about; however it is made much more difficult when you have a child who you know will need long-term care after your death. Knowing that you have provided protection for your special needs child after your passing can give your family great peace of mind.
Taylor, Taylor & Taylor, Inc. is a small, family-focused law firm conveniently located off Nuckols Road in the Hickory Park office condos between the YMCA and Suntrust. They offer many services to meet the needs of families with loved ones with special needs including: durable powers of attorney, advance medical directives, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, and creation and administration of special needs trusts.
The firm was established in 1993 when Hayward and Melissa Taylor (husband and wife) joined Hayward’s father at his Lakeside office which opened in 1973. The Nuckols Road office opened in the summer of 2011 and is now the sole location. Hayward and Melissa Taylor reside in Wyndham, and are actively involved in the community with three children currently attending Henrico High School Center for the Arts, Deep Run High School and Short Pump Middle School. Taylor, Taylor, & Taylor, Inc. recently welcomed a new associate, Ben Tyree. The firm is a general practice law firm which can handle almost any issue your family or business might encounter and strives to deliver personal attorney contact that most larger firms don’t offer.
Hayward F. Taylor, IV
University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce 1989
University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law 1993
Primary Practice Areas
Commercial and Residential Closings- Sales and Purchases
Deed Preparation
Landlord/Tenant Issues and Foreclosures
Estate and Trust Administration
Formation of Business Entities
Melissa S. Taylor
Wake Forest University 1990
University of Richmond T.C. Williams School of Law in 1993
Primary Practice Areas
Wills & Trusts
Powers of Attorney and Advance Medical Directives
Separation/Property Settlement and Prenuptial Agreements
Uncontested Divorce
Divorce, Custody and Support
Benjamin S. Tyree
University of Richmond 2008
Wake Forest University School of Law 2011
Primary Practice Areas
Civil Litigation
Collections
Personal Injury
Divorce, Custody and Support
Taylor, Taylor & Taylor, Inc. would be happy to become your personal law firm. Contact them at (804) 266-9619 and mention Know Different for a $50 credit toward any initial consultation or fixed fee service. 11213 Nuckols Road, Suite E, Glen Allen, VA 23059
$50 credit toward any initial consultation or fixed fee service