Why a legacy of financial organisation is essential for our children with additional needs

We developed a way to make a life plan for our daughter and our life plan can work for you too. We created the Red Giraffe Route Map by dividing the main aspects of her life into four categories which we liken to train lines: The Daily Living Line, The Relationship Line, The Purpose Line and The Financial Line. 

Everyone needs money for their long-term security, but our young adults may rely more heavily on others to help plan and manage this security. For this reason, careful planning of the financial line is imperative.

Understanding legacy on the financial line can be confusing. Even if you don’t consider yourself well off, you can still leave a significant financial legacy because it’s not the money you leave them, but rather it’s their relationship to money and the organisation of their finances. Everyone has money come into their lives and we all make choices about how that money is used and spent. Your legacy to them should be instilling good money habits.

In a practical sense, leaving a good financial legacy means that your child will follow certain habits (rules) about the spending of money, and understand from which bank account it is spent. It might also be a connection to and willingness to learn from a money mentor, possibly a trustee if they have a trust. Because money is such an abstract concept, it’s important to rely on spending habits. Included in this might be rules about delayed gratification that are so ingrained that they are an automatic habit. The key thing is a sound system of financial organisation that leaves them enough to live on, even if it doesn’t cover all they desire.

You may at times feel that money management is a skill they will simply never grasp – and they wouldn’t be alone. It is important to remember, however, that just because something is hard is not a reason not to persevere with it. Leaving them with no money skills whatsoever would be a recipe for disaster if other checks and balances aren’t put in place, so try to keep chipping away at these stops regularly.

Your financial legacy can never be considered complete until you have all your financial affairs organised. This includes gradually separating your finances away from theirs, and it may involve inheritance planning. This could mean discussing your will with others, perhaps their siblings, to ensure they understand your thinking behind it and the decisions you have made. You may need to decide on future trustees or identify who will advise them on financial matters. It may be as simple as just letting them know who to turn to if they have problems with bills and getting things done from a practical living perspective. It is important to ensure they understand who they should and shouldn’t trust when it comes to talking about financial affairs. 

A solid life plan will enable you to share your thoughts with others about what would be a good life for your child. You want others to understand your wishes and desires for your child, and ensure they are carried out even when you are not around. Your plan must be totally clear because not everyone has your great imagination nor your determination to ensure your child lives a fully rewarding and fulfilling life. Whether or not your child will be able to have this life will depend, to a large extent, on their finances. Give yourself this peace of mind: write a life plan and share it with those people who will support your child in the future, especially those people who will advise them on money, because the success of your plan will fall to them once you are no longer around. Ensuring this longevity is another aspect of your financial legacy to your child.

This is an adapted extract from What's Possible? Plan a better future for your young adult with additional needs by Graham Caldow.

Graham Caldow lives with his wife Debra in the South of England and is the father of two daughters. Having run various businesses for over 20 years, Graham now dedicates his time to supporting parents to help their children build the skills they need to live the life they deserve. Through Red Giraffe Solutions, he helps parents of children and young adults with additional needs answer the question: "What's next for my child?”. As the parent of a young adult with additional needs himself, his ultimate goal is to ensure they are financially secure, independent and fulfilled through bespoke life plans covering topics such as finances, building relationships and living with purpose. In his new book What's Possible? 

Graham shares his experience supporting his daughter and explains how he created simple models to create a personalised life plan to ensure a secure future.