Dealing with disability: advice from advisors

(March 18, 2005) February’s federal budget provided new tax benefits for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers. The measures are being welcomed by advisors, who provided additional insight on working with caregiver and dependent clients.

Ottawa amended the disability tax credit, extending eligibility requirements, increased the maximum annual Child Disability Benefit to $2,000 per child (up from $1,681), and increased the caregiver amount for claimed medical and disability-related expenses to $10,000, doubled over the previous year.

Joyce Marbach, vice-president and senior investment advisor at Wellington West Capital in Regina, highlights the importance of keeping up with such changes, citing a case in which she was able to assist a client in collecting back-dated tax credits. The client had been taking care of her older brother who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. “With income tax having such a huge impact, I’m always trying to keep on top of anything that’s ongoing,” she says. “Since I tend to have an elderly client base, something like that stayed with me. I knew the rules were something I needed to follow up on.”

Assante Capital financial advisor and branch manager Tina Tehranchian says keeping a log book is a handy tool for caregivers. By keeping a record of everything related to the disabled dependent, the caregiver provides herself with a fail-safe backup should she become unavailable to resume her caregiving functions. “That’s an insurance plan in itself in case someone has to cover for the caregiver,” Tehranchian says. “The guide book could cover minute details such as what [the dependent’s] medication is…all the names of the different medical, financial and legal professionals that are involved in the affairs of the person with the special needs…all the little things that are taken for granted between the caregiver and the person they care for.”

Advisors also have an obligation to look after the caregivers’ financial security, Tehranchian notes. “Caregivers are so absorbed in making sure the people they’re taking care of are secure and looked after. Everyone is so focused on the person with the special needs they forget that the healthy people who are taking care of that person could be facing health problems; they could have a critical illness and could need long-term care. All the risks that could pose financial hardship on the caregiver have to be taken into account and they have to be looked after.”

Centres of influence (COIs) are useful when dealing with client caregivers. Marbach suggests quarterbacking all the professionals dealing with the caregiver and dependent. “One of the things I tell my client is, ‘I might be an investment advisor, but I also need the assistance of your accountant and your lawyer.'”

But just because your COIs may be working in tandem doesn’t necessarily mean the client’s best interests are being fulfilled, cautions chartered life planner John Dowson. While it may make good business sense to determine sound financial and technical strategies for the caregiver/dependent’s portfolio, it’s critical the professional players don’t forget about the client’s needs.

Dowson recalls dealing with a 58-year-old client who had been caring for his 37-year-old dependent child. All of the COIs (advisor, accountant, lawyer etc.) were gathered in a meeting to discuss the child’s estate plan. “They had been looking at estate freezes, shares transferred, trusts — I mean, they were into real sophisticated stuff. It was all good, but what happened was they didn’t bother to think about the son,” Dowson explains.

What the client really wanted was a plan for his son’s living situation and a safe home for him to reside in after he was no longer able to provide that himself. Dowson adds, “The forgotten person was the one with the disability. And no-one ever asked the parents what they wanted. [The professionals] came in with these preconceived ideas that we can help you do this and save a lot of money. That wasn’t the issue. This guy wasn’t interested in saving all that money. He wanted to provide for his son when he died. And no-one asked him.”

Filed by Heidi Staseson, Advisor’s Edge, heidi.staseson@advisor.rogers.com