Question: My husband and I (both in our mid-30's) have a Down’s syndrome child age eight months, have separated, and plan to get divorced. While we agree that I will have custody of our daughter, I will not be able to return to work, and my husband and I have been unable to agree about how much additional financial and support settlement I should receive to help care for her and me. While we all have good health insurance now through my husband's employer, I know that this will not last if we get divorced. We live in a small town, information about this type situation is very limited, and our lawyers have given us little help in solving our dilemma. Can you give us some guidelines?

Answer: Your problem points up the need for a multi-disciplinary solution that can not be adequately handled by a matrimonial lawyer without help from other professionals, and because of the complexity involved, all of the specifics can not be covered here.

Since you will not be able to work for an undetermined length of time -- and therefore will not be able to acquire assets or build your Social Security work record -- and because your daughter will need extensive and expensive care, two issues must be dealt with: (1) How you will care for yourself financially? and (2) What is the best way to assure that your daughter receives the best care available?

It appears to us that in addition to a generous award of alimony, you should receive an overly-generous share of the marital property, including as large a policy of life insurance on your husband's life as is affordable. And because remaining covered on his health insurance could get expensive in the future, you should seek out a qualified health insurance broker and apply for individual coverage in your own name. Until that is accomplished, your husband should maintain both you and your daughter on his coverage.

Since your daughter may be entitled to receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, before you enter into any agreement with your husband about child support and alimony, we suggest that you contact your local Social Security office and your county Medicaid agency to see where you stand.

SSI is a "needs based" income maintenance program for aged, blind, and/or disabled individuals who have no or low income and not more than $2,000 in countable resources. Although administered by the Social Security Administration, the benefits come from the general fund of the United State Treasury. Since Down’s syndrome is one of the few obvious disabilities, you should be able to get a report from your child's doctor and apply to Social Security for what are called “presumptive” benefits. If granted, you can begin receiving SSI benefits immediately and for up to six months while formal eligibility is determined.

If your daughter qualifies for SSI, she will probably also qualify for such state programs as medical assistance through Medicaid and food stamps. Assuming your daughter qualifies, it is important for you and your husband to plan to keep her from being disqualified since an SSI recipient's "income" affects the amount of benefits. SSI recognizes two types of income -- "earned" and "unearned" -- each of which has different definitions than those commonly associated with taxable income. Since there is no likelihood of your daughter earning income, you and your advisors must be concerned about unearned Income.

According to SSI regulations, "income" can include such things as cash, checks, and other items of value you get that can be used for food, clothing, or shelter. It even includes items you wouldn't have to report for federal or state income tax purposes such as the value of food, shelter, or clothing given to your daughter; settlements and awards -- including court-ordered awards; life insurance proceeds; gifts and contributions; support and alimony payments; and inheritances in cash or property. While up to $20.00 per month of unearned income can be received from any source without effect, one dollar ($1.00) will be deducted from the SSI check for every dollar received above $20.00.

Because of space limitations here, additional planning information is available at our website – www.nextsteps.net -- which includes such issues as trusts and inheritance.