When people hear of a disabled child and inheritance, they will immediately think that the child will have very little claim over their parents’ assets. People will think that disabled children have a lot less solid claims as compared to their siblings who are not disabled.
Although that line of thinking may be flawed and have a lot of questions surrounding it, it does not mean such cases don’t exist. As a matter of fact, they are a lot more common than we think them to be, even if it’s in Malaysia. It’s not just a common line of thought within Malaysian shores, it’s common everywhere actually.
However, it does not mean that disabled child will have zero claims over their share of their inheritance. There are several ways to look at this. Let’s have a look at what advantages able-bodied children have when it comes to inheritance.
1. Fully-abled children are less likely to be disinherited
It is possible to be disinherited by your parents anywhere you are in the world. Your parents can legally declare in a court that they no longer recognized you as their child. If you are disinherited from and by your parents, you have 0 legal rights to claim their assets when they are no longer around.
For a fully-abled child, it’s less likely they will be disinherited by their parents. Unless something bad really happened between the fully-abled child and the parents, then yes it is very likely that the parents will disinherit them.
However, if it’s a disabled child, the disinheritance can be a lot stronger. Some parents cannot stand having a disabled child as they are often considered a burden. The parents may want to abort them, give them up for adoption, and abandon them and so on.
Solution: There is no need to disinherit the child. There are so many organizations around Malaysia that are willing to provide and offer support for parents with disabled kids. Reach out to them for assistance. I am sure there are solutions to nearly every problems under the sun, including this matter.
2. Fully-abled children tend to be prioritized
This is a very straightforward scenario to understand to begin with. It’s quite common that some parents actually give all the inheritance to their able-bodied siblings because they are not disabled. The parents will think that the able-bodied siblings will automatically take care of their disabled sibling.
Though they may be right for thinking that way, it’s a very naïve line of thought. How would they know if the able-bodied siblings will automatically take care of the disabled child? There will be times when the able-bodied siblings can abandon the disabled sibling just because of their disability.
Solution: To avoid making such a mistake, have the assets equally distributed between all the siblings, including the disabled child. Each child, disabled or not, should have a fighting chance at having their fair share of their inheritance.
3. Not having a special needs trust set up or in place
Some parents think that this is not necessary. However, it is. It’s so important for the disabled child because having one will help him/her in the future. Having one will ensure a positive outcome for the special needs child.
The disabled child will qualify for public assistance programs that would have been otherwise unavailable to them. If the child does not have a special needs trust set up for them, it will be a very long and painful process for the disabled child to get the public assistance it needs, which often has strict financial eligibility criteria.
Conclusion
A disabled child does deserve better in life. If you ever need any assistance for a special needs child’s future, feel free to talk to us. We are more than happy to assist.
