How to Provide for a Disabled Child in Your Will

For parents of a disabled child — whether that child is young or now an adult — one question is never far away: who will look after them when I am gone? It is one of the hardest things to think about, and one of the most important to plan for.

The good news is that a carefully written will can do a great deal to protect your child's future. The risk is that a simple, well-meant gift in a will can accidentally cause real harm. Here is what you need to know.

Why Leaving Money Outright Can Cause Problems

Most parents' first instinct is to leave their child money directly. For a disabled child, this can backfire in several ways:

• It can affect means-tested benefits. Benefits such as Universal Credit and help with care costs depend on how much money a person has. For Universal Credit, savings over £6,000 reduce the payment, and savings over £16,000 usually stop it altogether. An inheritance could wipe out support your child relies on.
• It can affect care funding. Local authority funding for care and support is also means-tested, so an inheritance may have to be spent on care that would otherwise have been provided.
• Your child may not be able to manage the money. If your child lacks the mental capacity to manage their own finances, money left to them directly may need a court-appointed deputy before anyone can use it for them.
• Your child may be vulnerable. A large sum can leave a vulnerable person open to pressure or financial abuse.

Benefits that are not means-tested, such as Personal Independence Payment, are not affected by savings. But many disabled people receive at least some means-tested support, so this needs careful thought.

The Solution: A Trust in Your Will

Instead of leaving money directly to your child, you can leave it to a trust. Trustees you choose then manage the money and use it for your child's benefit.

Discretionary Trusts

The most common choice is a discretionary trust. The trustees decide how and when to use the money, and your child has no automatic right to any of it. Because the money does not belong to your child, it is not normally counted as their savings for means-tested benefits.

The trustees can use the money to improve your child's quality of life — for example, holidays, equipment, therapies, a car adapted to their needs, or help towards housing — while their benefits continue. You can include other family members as possible beneficiaries too, which gives the trustees flexibility as circumstances change.

Disabled Person's Trusts

Where a trust meets certain conditions set by HMRC, it can qualify as a disabled person's trust, which can bring more favourable tax treatment than an ordinary discretionary trust. The rules are stricter, and whether this is the right route depends on your child's circumstances and the size of your estate. This is something to discuss in detail when your will is drafted.

Choosing the Right Trustees

Your trustees will have a long-term role, possibly for the whole of your child's life, so choose carefully. Good trustees are:

• Trustworthy, organised and sensible with money
• Likely to stay involved for many years — consider their age and health
• Understanding of your child's needs and on good terms with them

Many parents appoint a mix, such as a sibling of the child alongside a trusted friend or professional, so there is both personal knowledge and independent oversight. Our guide to choosing executors covers many of the same considerations.

Write a Letter of Wishes

Alongside your will, you can write a letter of wishes to guide your trustees. It is not legally binding, but it is enormously valuable. It can explain your child's needs, routines, likes and dislikes, medical history, the people and places that matter to them, and how you would like the money to be used. Nobody knows your child as you do, and this letter lets that knowledge carry on.

If Your Child Is Under 18

If your child is under 18, your will should also name a guardian to look after them if both parents die. For a disabled child, think carefully about whether your chosen guardian can meet your child's care needs, and talk it through with them before naming them.

If Your Adult Child Cannot Make Their Own Decisions

Once your child turns 18, you no longer have automatic legal authority to make decisions about their money or welfare, even as their parent. You cannot make a Lasting Power of Attorney on their behalf. If they lack capacity to make one themselves, you may need to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as their deputy. It is also worth making your own Lasting Power of Attorney, so someone you trust can manage things if you become unable to.

Being Fair to Your Other Children

Parents often worry about fairness between a disabled child and their brothers and sisters. There is no single right answer. Some parents leave a larger share to the trust for their disabled child; others divide things equally. Life insurance written in trust can be a useful way to provide for your disabled child without reducing what your other children receive.

How Abrahams Wills Can Help

I understand how sensitive these conversations are. When I visit families at home across Twickenham, Hounslow, Teddington, Sunbury and throughout London and Surrey, I take the time to understand your child's needs and help you put a will and trust in place that protects them for the long term.

As a member of The Society of Will Writers, with over 25 years of legal experience, I explain every option in plain English. I offer home visits 7 days a week, daytime or evening, so you can talk things through without having to arrange care or travel.

This guide gives general information only. Benefit rules are complex and change from time to time, so your will should be drafted with your child's specific circumstances in mind.