...the people who rip off the government. It's a lot of work and my brain just doesn't work that way.
Many of you already know that Dan and I have an autistic son. Of our 3 kids, he has been the easiest to raise and is truly a joy in our lives, but it's unlikely that he'll ever be able to truly support himself and live on his own. He turned 18 in April and since January, we've been working on getting a guardianship in place - finally finished that on Aug 15 - and now we're starting paperwork for SSI and other programs for him to help him survive in the world.
I've just started making calls and looking up forms today and OMG! The kinds of things we need to gather is unbelievable; normal stuff like birth certificate and picture ID to 1 month's grocery reciept for 1 person. And the process just to get SSI takes months. He has to have Medicaid, too. I don't know if that's really what sort of health coverage he has to use, or if he just has to be registered. Luckily, there's a local organization that helps navigate through this.
We have a comfortable life and weren't going to do any of this but the guardianship. Then our attorney (who also has an autistic child) told us that we should and put the money into a trust for his future. He's going to outlive us and just because we're comfortable doesn't mean we can set up a trust that he could live off after we're gone. I'm terrified that he could end up living in one of those state run, disinfectant smelling "institutions" like on One Few Over the Cuckoo's Nest. So, the circus has started.
Anyway, I guess these people really, really don't want to have to work to go to these lengths for these programs. I'm just looking at the first list and reminding myself that this is necessary for Dave's future.
Many of you already know that Dan and I have an autistic son. Of our 3 kids, he has been the easiest to raise and is truly a joy in our lives, but it's unlikely that he'll ever be able to truly support himself and live on his own. He turned 18 in April and since January, we've been working on getting a guardianship in place - finally finished that on Aug 15 - and now we're starting paperwork for SSI and other programs for him to help him survive in the world.
I've just started making calls and looking up forms today and OMG! The kinds of things we need to gather is unbelievable; normal stuff like birth certificate and picture ID to 1 month's grocery reciept for 1 person. And the process just to get SSI takes months. He has to have Medicaid, too. I don't know if that's really what sort of health coverage he has to use, or if he just has to be registered. Luckily, there's a local organization that helps navigate through this.
We have a comfortable life and weren't going to do any of this but the guardianship. Then our attorney (who also has an autistic child) told us that we should and put the money into a trust for his future. He's going to outlive us and just because we're comfortable doesn't mean we can set up a trust that he could live off after we're gone. I'm terrified that he could end up living in one of those state run, disinfectant smelling "institutions" like on One Few Over the Cuckoo's Nest. So, the circus has started.
Anyway, I guess these people really, really don't want to have to work to go to these lengths for these programs. I'm just looking at the first list and reminding myself that this is necessary for Dave's future.
