My practice has evolved over the years and I am now handling many divorce and custody matters where a child has been identified with special needs. These cases require more than the " boilerplate " or standard divorce and parenting agreements.In thinking about issues in this context where a child may have special needs the following considerations may be important:
1. Parenting Time may be more structured or limited given a child's medical needs or difficulties with transitions.
2. Depending on the needs of the child it may be necessary for one of the parents to be full-time caregiver or at least scale back their career to work around the needs of the child.This may effect maintenance and property division.
3. Special Education issues may require more thought and care regarding where the child resides for school district residency purposes.
4. Guideline child support may insufficient to meet the needs of the child. Many states have provisions for departure from child support guidelines if the child presents extraordinary needs.
5. Medical Insurance may be more of thorny issue and may require both parents to think about maintaining the insurance or employment to avoid lapses or reduction in coverage.
6. Estate plannign following divorce may require parents to work together to assure the long term care of their disabled child.
7. A severely disabled child may not be emancipated at 18 or 21 and may require support indefinitely.
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Posted by: Bala Cynwyd Divorce Lawyer | January 06, 2010 at 05:06 AM