Financial Planning for Children With Special Needs

There are financial planners -- and then there are financial planners with the expertise to help families with special-needs children.
If a planner is a generalist -- "just a money guy -- you may not get a solution there," says Michael Kresh, a certified financial planner in Islandia, N.Y., who says about 10 percent of his clients have at least one child who may require long-term care.
In some cases a condition that can run in families may be diagnosed later in life, and parents can plan now for that possibility with their child, he says.
Parents should leave nothing to chance, experts say. So, when looking for a planner with special-needs expertise, ask for referrals from other parents you know.