Financial help for young adult with special needs

[Anonymous]

We have a young adult DC who has some challenges which get in the way of her ability to care for her financial self. She has a job (which she has mastered) and has a steady source of (low) income from it. Her paychecks are directly deposited. She has a checking and savings account, but is unable to handle the money management of it.

I would like to get out of the role of handling her day to day finances. I would like to hire someone to meet with her (twice monthly?) to pay bills, balance checkbook, and budget etc.

Any ideas of what kind of person? Who does this type of thing? How much would it cost?

[Anonymous]

Try posting this in the Special Needs Kids forum. You will get a better response.

[Anonymous]

You would hire a CPA.

[Anonymous]

Someone with fiduciary responsibility.

[Anonymous]

I get emails from my city looking for volunteers to help disabled adults with financial management. It sounds like what you are looking for. It's through their division of aging and adult services. If your city or county has a similar division, that might be a good place to start.

[Anonymous]

Are you looking for someone to eventually, over time, teach her the skill of managing her money and making good decisions, or are you looking for someone to actually manage her money for her long term? Also, are you looking for someone to help her manage the income she brings in from her job, which I'm assuming is pretty entry level since she's young, or also to manage other things like SSI payments, or a trust, or decisions about medical insurance?

If you're looking for someone to work with just what is coming in from her job (assuming she's not making a fortune), with the hope that she'll do it herself long term, I'd focus on that person's ability to teach and communicate ideas. I'd consider an experienced special educator for the job. On the other hand, if there are financial complexities and/or skill development isn't a priority, then I might look for a CPA or financial planner.

[Anonymous]

Agree to try the special needs forum but most of the posters are parents of young kids who probably haven't dealt with this yet. I would suggest joining the mcneeds listserv (mcneeds.org). It is a yahoo group for Montgomery County parents of kids with special needs (not everyone on the listserv lives in MC). Several frequent posters have older kids and they often provide insight based on their experiences.