Special Needs Planning for People with a Disability

Special Needs Planning: Securing Your Child's Financial Future

What's going to happen to your child after you're gone? It's the question that sits at the heart of every parent's worry when their child has a disability — and yet it's the question that too often goes unanswered until it's too late.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to special needs planning in Canada, covering the legal, financial, and practical steps families need to take to protect their child's future security and quality of life. Drawing on over 30 years of direct experience working with families, the instructor walks through the full landscape of planning considerations — from government disability benefits and the Registered Disability Savings Plan to Henson Trusts, the Disability Tax Credit, and the critical role of a Letter of Intent.

Through real case studies, the course illustrates what happens when planning is in place — and what happens when it isn't. Whether you are a parent, a financial advisor, an accountant, or a lawyer working with families affected by disability, this course will give you the knowledge to ask the right questions, avoid costly mistakes, and build a plan that genuinely reflects a family's wishes for their child.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Explain what special needs planning is, why it is urgent, and how it differs from conventional financial planning for families without a child who has a disability.
2. Describe the Canadian government disability benefit structure — including provincial income benefits, shelter allowances, health and dental coverage, and the board and lodge option — and explain how asset limits and income thresholds affect eligibility.
3. Identify the key federal tax credits and programs available to individuals with disabilities and their families, including the Disability Tax Credit, the caregiver amount, the medical expense tax credit, and the Registered Disability Savings Plan, including how to maximize grants and bonds.
4. Explain the legal framework governing the Henson Trust, including its origins, how it protects disability benefits from being clawed back, the difference between testamentary and inter vivos trusts, and the Qualified Disability Trust and Preferred Beneficiary Election options for managing trust taxation.
5. Describe the purpose, contents, and legal significance of a Letter of Intent, and explain how it protects a child's wishes, guides trustees, and reduces the risk of inheritance being misused or stolen.
6. Apply a holistic special needs planning framework to identify the key elements a comprehensive plan must address — including housing, daily care, finances, legal documentation, and quality of life — to ensure a child's future is secure after their parents are gone