Parents of children with special needs may leave outrights gifts in their will to pay for future therapies and treatments, as long as the child is not receiving government benefits, or would like to receive government benefits in the future. In most cases, outright gifts will have an impact on government benefits that are received.

In addition, outright gifts should not be left to children with brain injury or cerebral palsy who have cognitive impairments, as they will be expected to manage the outright gift themselves.

Morally Obligated Gifts

If you have few assets and your special needs child is not likely to need lifelong care, you may want to consider a morally obligated gift. A morally obligated gift is one you leave to your other child or children, with the stipulation that it is used to pay for the care of their special needs sibling. This is often done when the child has cognitive impairments and is not able to make decisions about the gift herself.

It’s important to mention that the child who receives the morally obligated gift is not obligated to spend it in the way the parent requests, so choosing a trustworthy, responsible sibling is key.