One of the last things a parent wants to worry about while dealing with their special needs child is finances. Unfortunately, the topic too often can't be avoided. Special needs children often require above average emotional, physical and medical care. This costs money. Long-term care is another concern that needs to be addressed.

Cynthia Gavenda is a special care planner with the MassMutual Financial Group. She is a CPA as well as an MBA and worked on Wall Street for several years prior to having children. All that changed after her son was born with Down Syndrome.

"He was our first child and his diagnosis at birth was unexpected," says Gavenda. "The first few months after we brought him home were very difficult. Not only did I have a difficult time adjusting emotionally to the fact that my child was physically and mentally disabled, but there were a number of unexpected challenges in caring for Alec."

As a financial planner Gavenda knew they needed to make financial provisions for their child. "Even though we were quite challenged emotionally that first year, we did make sure that we did what we needed to do from an estate planning perspective to make sure that Alec was provided for in the event that we were not there to care for him," says Gavenda. "When Alec was 4 months old, we retained a special needs attorney to draft our wills, durable powers of attorney and special needs trust. We selected guardians and trustees and obtained life and disability insurance."

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