WHAT AFTER ME
Your Financial Planning
What after ME !! is the most haunting and daunting question which every parent keeps thinking and is trying to find adequate responses to make sure that their child ‘s quality of life is not compromised after they are gone. Parents aspire that their child is safe, secure and is well taken care of even if they are not around.
Parents need to have a lifelong financial plan which extends beyond their lifetime at least an additional 30 - 40 years . Depending on the type of condition a financial plan has to be created which takes care of all the costs involved from living expenses, assessments, therapies , legal guardian , caregiver and other related costs which needs to be accounted for after considering inflation , non linear increase in expenses and complexities involved .
We have attempted to give parents perspective of things which they can start taking care of as they go through this process
- Create a Child’s diary which clearly gives all the details of needs of their child, food habits, treatment plan , contact information of caregivers, therapists, doctors ,lawyers, chartered accountants and who are all involved in taking care of the child be it individuals, hospitals, organisations, communities, friends and relatives.
- Obtaining a disability certificate
- Appointing a legal guardian and applying for a certificate
- Creating a will
- Forming a trust with beneficiary being the child - trust deed has to be drafted
- Forming a trust circle who the child can be comfortable with who know the living habits of the child
- Appointing a financial planner who can plan out budgets, cash flows, evaluate assets , create a personalised investment plan which can provide for the family and their loved ones
Disability certificate after attaining the age of 18 years
- Parents must apply for a fresh disability certificate after the child attains the age of 18 years in spite of having the valid previous certificate
Apply for legal guardian certificate
- Parents must apply for legal guardian certificate after the child attains the age of 18 years
- Documents required: New disability certificate, Aadhar card, Pan card, Photos, Date of Birth and address proof
- Application can be filed online on www.thenationaltrust.gov.in
- Local legal committee will give an appointment to meet and verify all the documents
- Next step: The Deputy Commissioner of Women and Child Health care will appoint the application
- Whole process takes 8-10 months
Trust Circle
- Choose any five members in your Trust Circle which can include close friends, relatives and/or family members
- He/she should be a resident Indian
Appoint a Legal Guardian:
- Out of the above five appointed Trust Circle, you can appoint one or two as a Legal Guardian
- Legal Guardian should be a resident Indian
Trust Deed
- Should include the following things:
- How to take care of a child when parents are not around
- Education cost
- Caregiver cost
- Monthly expense details
- Health and medicine details
- Details of Doctors/therapists
- About lifestyle and daily routine
- Fees of Executor of will
- Share the soft copy of Trust Deed to all the five members of Trust Circle
- Back-up of the Trust Deed should be kept handy
Create a will:
- Will can be created in your own handwriting
- Should have the name of Legal Guardian, Executor of will and Beneficiary name
- Two witness details and their signature would also be required
- Will can be changed ‘n’ number of times
- Will needs to be registered
Some financial planning pointers
- Never buy a property on autistic child name
- Plan for monthly expense of about 40-50K based on the costs today, add 7-8% inflation per annum to this figure easily
- Set aside contingency funds for your child in current terms of around 1.2 crores in bank deposits or similar schemes
- Child of Central Government direct employees can enjoy the benefit of lifelong pension of his/her parent
- Take a term insurance policy where the child is the beneficiary with an appointed legal guardian who is already briefed about the investments to be made on behalf of the child for his monthly expenses
- Apply for reverse mortgage loan on your property after you attain the age of 60 years
How parents can start an habit of child living without their being around:
- Send them at your close friends/family day night out
- Send them to school trips/outings
- Summer camps
- Excursion/Adventure camps
- Letting the child stay with caregiver
Factors to consider choosing a home away from ‘home’ for your child:
- Safety of child
- Hygiene
- Health (physical and mental)
- Environment to explore and happiness