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The template, created with the input of MassMutual professionals withdecades of combined experience in special needs planning, is a fillable Worddocument that can be customized by parents and/or caregivers to reflect theirspecific situations. Parents and caregivers can visitwww.massmutual.com/specialcare/resources to request the template, which is ona compact disc.
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A Letter of Intent provides critical caregiving instructions to futureguardians, trustees and advocates of the person with a disability in the eventof the death of a parent or caregiver. While not a legal document, the LOI canbe an effective supplement to a will or trust because it attempts to ensurethat a family's wishes will be fully understood.
"A Letter of Intent is a great way for families and caregivers to gatherall relevant information in one place, make clear the family's intentions, andcommunicate important insights about the unique personality, needs, likes anddislikes of the family member with special needs," said Randy Cushing, CLU,ChFC, CLTC, and Special Care Planner, whose practice is associated withCommonwealth Financial Group of Boston, a MassMutual general agency.
"Because the template is an electronic document, it can be easily updatedor conveniently sent to other family members, caregivers and advisors," addedCushing, who uses the Letter of Intent template with his clients who havespecial needs.
While important for all families with members having a disability, aLetter of Intent is particularly important in the case of children who areincapable of expressing their own needs and wants to caregivers and others, asis the case, for example, with many children with autism.
"The Letter of Intent can help ensure parental intentions and desires areclear to any and all caregivers -- even in the event of a parent's suddendisability or premature death," said Joanne Gruszkos, director of theSpecialCare(SM) program at MassMutual, a coordinated program that providesaccess to information, specialists and financial products and services thatcan help improve the quality of life for people with disabilities and otherspecial needs and their families. "Often, families understandably become sofocused on day-to-day needs that they lose sight of the larger life-careissues and the costs that loom ahead. A Letter of Intent can help focus thefamily on the future."
Although not legally binding, a Letter of Intent offers guidance to thecourts and trustees for interpreting care instructions and typically includesemergency contacts, medical history, preferred living arrangements, educationor work arrangements, recreational preferences, behavioral challenges, and asummary of family and financial information.
The LOI is a good life planning document for parents/caregivers to sharewith their team of advisors who can use it as a guide in drawing up plans,wills, trusts, and other documents. An advisory team may consist of anattorney, CPA and others, such as social workers and caregivers and a SpecialCare Planner or financial professional. A Special Care Planner has receivedadvanced training in estate and tax planning concepts, special needs trusts,government programs, and the emotional dynamics of working with people withdisabilities and other special needs and their families. The Special CarePlanner certificate program is offered by The American College in Bryn Mawr,PA, exclusively for MassMutual financial professionals.
Visitors to the MassMutual site also will have the option to obtainadditional free information, such as:
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