Do you have a loved one who is dependent on you or your spouse for care? In many cases, special-needs children and adults are completely dependent on one or both parents to provide ongoing assistance with the activities of daily living. In such a case, it’s important to consider what will happen to the individual when both caregivers pass away.
It’s not uncommon for special-needs children to outlive their parents by a number of years – even decades. Without an immediate family member to provide care, people in this situation are likely to need costly long term care for many years. That’s why it’s so important for those with special-needs dependents to include survivorship life insurance in their estate plans.
A survivorship life insurance policy, sometimes referred to as second to die life insurance, pays out upon the death of two people. In the instance of parents trying to make sure the needs of their dependents are met when neither of them is available to provide care, this type of coverage can be an ideal special-needs life insurance option. These types of life insurance are typically set up in irrevocable trusts for a variety of reasons. Your estate planning attorney will be able to help you determine the best way to structure policy ownership.