what kind of disability-estate pro does this U.S. person need?

May 1, 2022 3:06 PM

What kind of lawyer/financial counselor would someone in the U.S. (Va.) with a progressive condition consult for long-term employment/disability/estate planning? Twist: their adult child is disabled and can't be given a direct inheritance.

This wouldn't just be about seeking disability benefits, as many of those lawyers (at least in Virginia) are one-trick ponies like DUI attorneys, their bread and butter is pretty straightforward. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

The person in this scenario is also the breadwinner/insurance holder and has a few assets like a house with mortgage, a wholly-owned "rental" that the adult child lives in independently, retirement savings, etc. So some very case-specific considerations about if/when/how to use short-term or long-term disability at work, if/when/how to leave work for good and claim SSA disability/early retirement benefits, how to park/disburse assets so adult child doesn't lose the roof over their head, what other ducks to line up, etc.

Please don't answer any of these if/when/hows or suggest better questions. I am just asking for legal/financial specialties and keywords to search.

posted by headnsouth to Law & Government (2 answers total)

Best answer: The lawyer that I know in this state who does this work specifically calls this Special Needs Planning. The Special Needs Alliance is one network of people who do this sort of work and they have a "lawyer finder" tool which shows some lawyers who specialize in this in Virginia. The guy who did my will in Vermont happens to also do this sort of law and he has a short page and a few essays that talk about it and might have more keywords for you.
posted by jessamyn at 3:55 PM on May 1, 2022 [5 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you, jessamyn! Marked resolved.
posted by headnsouth at 4:33 AM on May 2, 2022 [1 favorite]