While divorce is difficult no matter if the individuals involved have children or not, children have a way of making the process much more complex. This is true for all children, but if you are going through a divorce in Florida and there is a special needs child involved, you have even more considerations than most. Collaborative divorce is a positive way to work through the situation, but it becomes even more important if there is a child who requires special provisions. According to the Autism Community in Action, a Special Needs Trust is vital.
Basically, both you and your soon-to-be ex-spouse need to be making provisions for your child’s care when neither of you are around to do it any longer. This is what the Special Needs Trust will take care of. Make sure that this trust is the beneficiary of your ex’s 401K as well as yours if both parents possess them.
Both parents should also make sure that they have full life insurance plans and keep the payments up regularly. This way in the event that either you or your ex-spouse die prematurely, your child will still have care.
Medical decision-making is also of paramount concern. In a collaborative divorce, both parties will work together in order to make the best decisions for their child. However, in the case of a special-needs child, it is not unusual for parents to have disagreements about care, even if they are married. Both parties need to be on the same page where medication and dosing are concerned, and where diet is. Both parties need to agree to continue this course of care when the child is in their custody.