How one family planned beyond their own lifetime

The parents were financially secure, but money alone could not answer their biggest questions. Their adult son is on the autism spectrum and needs ongoing support with independent living. They had already created a living arrangement that offered him a degree of independence. Now they wanted to know where he would live, who would look out for him, and who would help make decisions when they could no longer provide day-to-day support.

They also wanted to do all of this without placing sole responsibility for their son’s future care and finances on his sibling. That meant looking beyond their own retirement and putting a structure in place for the next generation.

The advisor team started with the parents’ goals for their son, then used financial and estate planning tools to support them.

Understanding What He Needs
Developed budgets around the son’s ongoing needs to help the family understand the financial resources that could be required over time. 

Putting the Parents’ Wishes in Writing
Established an estate plan and trust structure reflecting the parents’ wishes for their family and assets. 

Setting Aside Support for His Future
Established a special needs trust, a legal arrangement designed to hold assets for a person with a disability while addressing considerations related to their ongoing support. 

Sharing the Responsibility
Discussed options for how the family’s trusts could be administered in the future, including ways to avoid placing sole responsibility on the son’s sibling. 

The planning could not remove the parents’ concern about a future they cannot fully control. It did give them a more organized structure around their son’s life and the questions that mattered most to them: where he will live, who will look out for him, and who will help make decisions. With budgets, an estate plan, and trust arrangements in place, the family was better positioned to continue evaluating their son’s needs and how responsibilities could be shared over time.