Divorce Financial Considerations with a Special Needs Child
{4:18 minutes to read} In my last blog, I discussed the governmental benefits that are available to a child or young adult with special needs. When I meet with my couples in divorce mediation, I need to first make sure they understand the public benefits their child is entitled to and then also discuss how these benefits relate to the many expenses (some covered by governmental benefits, some not) that arise when parents are raising a special needs child.
Governmental Benefits and the Special Needs Child
{2:48 minutes to read} In my next blog I will be discussing the various financial issues that affect the parents of a special needs child who are divorcing. Before doing that, however, I first need to describe the basic framework of governmental services and benefits that are provided to children and young adults with disabilities.
Parenting Arrangements for Special Needs Children
{3:32 minutes to read} When I’m mediating with parents who have a special needs child, I view myself as being on a “fact finding mission.” What do I mean by that? In addition to performing my other mediator responsibilities, my role is to gather as much information as I can about the couple’s special needs child, and how that child’s disability relates to each of the parents’ lives, as well as to any other siblings in the family. Clearly, these family relationships are often more complex than families without a special needs child.
Special Needs Children and Parenting Discussions
{3:06 minutes to read} When couples with normal-developing kids are separating or divorcing, we can spend quite a bit of time during mediation discussing their parenting arrangements. Among the many subjects that need to be addressed are: what the weekday and weekend parenting schedule will look like; how scheduling for holidays and summer vacations will be handled; and in what ways the scheduling may need to reflect the specific work circumstances of the parents.
Divorcing Parents and Their Special Needs Children
{3:12 minutes to read} I just finished a mediation session with a divorcing couple who have a special needs child, in addition to two typically-developing children. While divorces involving special needs children are often complicated and involve more issues than the “normal” divorce, I find helping these families to be especially rewarding.
Children and Chronic Illness: Type 1 Diabetes
{4:30 minutes to read} The NY Times recently published a detailed article on how school systems in the U.S. are failing to adequately care for students with Type 1 diabetes. What an eye-opener this was! And it’s because I know quite a bit about this subject that it was even more of an eye opener for me. How did I come to be so knowledgeable about this issue? Here is a little background information.
Divorcing Couples and Parenting Plans
For couples who have children and are divorcing, there’s no more important subject to discuss than their parenting arrangements post-divorce.
As we are working in mediation, my couples sometimes ask if there is a best parenting plan that couples should adopt and follow. The short answer to that question is, no. The slightly longer answer is – no, because so much depends on the unique circumstances and needs of your specific family and its members.
A Valuable Resource for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
In addition to my work as a family and divorce attorney/mediator, I’ve been involved in the non-profit world for more than 20 years helping children and young adults who have learning disabilities (LD). As often happens with people, I knew nothing about this subject until it touched me personally – when my son, Scott, was diagnosed with dyslexia, the most common form of LD, at the age of seven.
Special Needs Children and Divorce Mediation
One of the important questions I ask on my mediation intake form is whether or not any of the couple’s children has special needs. If they answer yes, then I know I will need to obtain much more information about the specifics of their child’s situation in order to help the parents address important decisions about their child’s current and future care.
