Pamela Parker's Profile

Interesting question. If you are 18 or over, you have the legal ability to write a will. Your property does not belong to your parents, it belongs to you. But if you're relatively young, you may not need a will... Continue reading

Posted May 27, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Can YOU skip out on estate planning?

A will is a legally enforceable way to distribute your things after your death to the people you want to have them. Not everyone needs a will. You do not need a will if you are under 18. Those under... Continue reading

Posted May 26, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Fearless Family Key Two - Creating Community

Why and how should you gather a community around your special needs child? Continue reading

Posted May 24, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions Parents Should Ask at an ARD Meeting

What is the ARD? An ARD (admission, review, and decision) committee is a group of people whose job is to design an individualized education plan (IEP) for each student who receives special education services. Parents are an important part of... Continue reading

Posted May 22, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Tornadoes! Wildfires! Hurricanes! Are you prepared?

As we all watch the almost incomprehensible scenes of devastation coming out of Oklahoma, I have trouble imagining how the people in these neighborhoods will begin to move forward. They have nothing - not even a wallet with ID and... Continue reading

Posted May 21, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Writing your own will: Can you? Should you?

I spoke at a meeting of special needs parents last week, and in the course of the discussion one woman shared that while she hadn't yet done a will, she does do an informal, handwritten will every time she takes... Continue reading

Posted May 21, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions to Ask at an ARD Meeting - Question SIX

Question 6. Do we need more information before a decision can be reached? (and why, or why not?) Pull this question out when you are interested in a particular service but the school is trying to talk you out of... Continue reading

Posted May 20, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions to Ask at an ARD Meeting - Question FIVE

Question 5. Where will that be written in the IEP? If it’s agreed to by the entire committee, it’s a suggestion. If it’s written down in the IEP, it’s a mandate. However, because the paperwork for an IEP is extensive... Continue reading

Posted May 19, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions to Ask at an ARD Meeting - Question FOUR

Question 4. What training on this is available to these personnel? Adequate training for personnel that work with your student is critical. Training may be on specific educational techniques or on working with particular disabilities. This is a good question... Continue reading

Posted May 18, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions to Ask at an ARD Meeting - Question THREE

Question 3. Is there any person in the district that might have more information on this? With only a few school staff on each ARD committee, there are bound to be people in the district with more experience and more... Continue reading

Posted May 17, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Six Questions to Ask at an ARD Meeting - Question TWO

Question 2. What other ideas do you have? This is a great question to use when the school staff seems to have already decided the entire IEP. Check back tomorrow for Question THREE. Read Question ONE Continue reading

Posted May 16, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Four Keys Overview of Special Needs Planning

Posted May 14, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Ghostly Molecules of You

The time is coming when you will have to confront a growing issue for thos of us who are active on the internet is what, if anything, to do about your online "property" when you are writing a will and... Continue reading

Posted Apr 14, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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The Disastrous Consequence of Skipping Step Two

Step one is to think over and come up with a plan. Step two is to implement it. The general legal planning for each child is the same. The first part of the plan is to set up a legal... Continue reading

Posted Apr 10, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Mary Mary Quite Contrary, How Will Your Child Grow?

In 2010 I hosted a daylong seminar for parents of children with special needs to begin to teach the parents how to plan for their children’s future. The event was held at the LadyBird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin Texas,... Continue reading

Posted Apr 8, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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You + 47%

Thanks to our buddies at the Dana Law Firm in Arizona for putting this together: Ready to move? Call me at 512-804-9934 or pparker@parkercounsel.com for a free information appointment. Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Five Reasons to Write a Will

What will you leave behind, and how will it look when you do? What can you do with a will? Leave your things to people other than those who would get them if you don’t have a will. Every state... Continue reading

Posted Apr 3, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Will you be remembered for a good life, or a messy death?

I have a friend in San Francisco who, like me, is an estate planning attorney (because, you know, attorneys all hang out together). Unlike me, her practice focuses on elder law, so whereas my clients are mostly young parents or... Continue reading

Posted Jan 23, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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How do you start special needs planning?

"Fearless Family Planning Basics" - I will be hosting this free presentation on the web tomorrow, Saturday Jan 19 at 2pm central time. Appropriate for residents of all states. Replay will be available later if you cannot attend at that... Continue reading

Posted Jan 18, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Help Others Talk to Your Child

I came across this great list of tips about how to talk with persons who have a disability. So much of why people who are different in some way are ignored is not because others don't want to talk to... Continue reading

Posted Jan 10, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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First Steps May Come Late . . .

. . . but for special needs parents, they are still sweet. For some kids, the first steps never come at all, but other firsts arrive on their own unique schedule and we relish every one of them. That said,... Continue reading

Posted Jan 9, 2013 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Cute Kids in Wheelchairs

Cute kids in wheelchairs, even if they can't talk, are a magnet for all kinds of things. Smiles, waves, mascots, curious kids without wheelchairs . . . And then those cute kids grow up. Become more adult, less cute, less... Continue reading

Posted Dec 11, 2012 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Fearless Family Legal Document Package

The Basic Package includes the following: Documents and materials related to the winding up of your affairs in the event of your death. Documents and materials to take care of you in the event of your own permanent or temporary... Continue reading

Posted Nov 29, 2012 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Estate Planning Means Answering These Questions

Do you know what "estate planning" is, exactly? Basically, it is your plan for what will happen if you die or become seriously disabled, and it should answer the following questions: Who Will Administer Your Estate If You Die? In... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2012 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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Preparing Your Children for Their Future

What is a Fearless Family? A Fearless Family understands that the future is unknown, but it does not have to be scary. Take your average family with your average young kids. The family probably expects their kids to grow up,... Continue reading

Posted Nov 26, 2012 at Special Needs Planning for Families

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