- Remembering money is passed down, not up
- The child will outlive the carer or team of carers
- What happens to funding care for 18 years onwards
- What is the impact on the family?
Gogh added: "Imagine caring for someone, knowing that person will outlive you. It presents planning opportunities in terms of funding for care, such as products like life insurance, which can be really effective as it will be a lump sum that kicks in on the death of the policyholder."
She also urged advisers to understand the total costs on a household, which could be three times higher for a family with a disabled child than other households.
According to Gogh: "It is crucial to translate the concept of early intervention into financial planning."
For example, she pointed to a grandparent who left £170,000 in their will to a child with a learning disability. But as the child was 21, it hit the ESA and means-tested care provision, and the parents had to go to court to divert it.
Planning ahead of such an event could have prevented significant problems later on, she said.
As a result, she recommended following the ARMed Parent Framework: Assess, Risk and Care plan.
She said: "Can the young person access their money from a mental capacity perspective? Will they be at risk with it in their hands? Can it end up impacting a means tested care plan?"
If one or two or all three of these questions are met with a 'yes' then this where advisers can "eliminate nearly 90 per cent of all the potential problems" way ahead of time.
Gogh also urged advisers to become the family's solicitor's "best friend".
"You need to work with the whole family, with solicitors, with guardians and professional trustees - everyone needs to talk with each other."
Ultimately however, it comes down to asking the right questions at the outset, by identifying the issue and making the child central, she concluded.
