Initial Consults with Clients with Special Needs Children: The Good, The Bad, and The Necessary

• Author: Beth C. Manes, Amanda S. Trigg
• Pages: 11-14

WINTER 2020 11

Legal Custody

Discussing legal custody, including the scope of major

decisions to be made by parents jointly or individually,

provides you with the perfect segue into discussing each child’s

unique needs. Address each child separately to give your client

ample opportunity to open up to you about a child whose

care, costs, and future are particularly worrisome. You de-

nitely need the documentation of any disability.

Ask for the names of the specialists involved in the child’s

care and diagnoses. Note that the parent who cannot provide

any of that information to you may be less involved in the

child’s care, which may impact future strategy, and be wary of

the parent who refuses to provide that information to you. If a

parent starts using terms that are new to you, ask questions.

Explain that you need information about the diagnosis,

medication, treatment, or any other specialized issue concern-

ing that child. Supplement the information you get from your

client with your own independent research, which should

include a review of doctors’ reports and evaluations.

Ask parents to sign authorizations to obtain copies of

records and/or speak with treating professionals, if that can

be done without prematurely alerting the other parent about

Getting to Know You: Intake Forms

Asking your new clients to complete intake forms streamlines

the introductory process. ink about where and how to ask

about the children’s needs. You probably ask for the children’s

names and ages early in the questionnaire. Add to that

question:

Do any of your children have special needs or talents? If yes, please

provide a brief description so that we can discuss this in person.

Asking an open-ended question sends the right message to

the client—that you are going to be attuned to the critical

issues surrounding the child but you know that the subject is

too complex to be covered in any introductory form.

Getting to Know You: Face to Face

Attorneys develop their own style and pattern for initial

consultations, but if you know in advance that a family

includes a child with special needs, be prepared to spend

extra time. You will need time for your client to educate you

on the child’s needs and for you to educate your client on

how those needs will build your case.

Initial Consults with Clients with

Special Needs Children

e Good, e Bad, and e Necessary

By BETH C. MANES & AMANDA S. TRIGG

Published in Family Advocate, Volume 42, Number 3, Winter 2020. © 2020 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof

may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.