Hamilton-based company created helps special needs children

“There are families that desperately need help in every possible way,” said Ancaster resident Robert Baboth.

Baboth, who has worked in the insurance business for about 19 years, became aware of the struggles for families of children with special needs while an associate with Ryall Associates. The former partner, Fred Ryall, who recently passed away, would help these families in any way possible.

“There was one woman who told us after we helped her family that it was the first time she had a good sleep in four years,” said Baboth. “These parents have emotional and financial burdens. We want to help to alleviate the emotional burden by working on the financial burden.”

Baboth, who helped to create the Diane Baboth Foundation — named after his mother — with his wife MaryBeth to build four playgrounds at Hamilton Health Sciences facilities, said these families are in a bureaucratic maze trying to get out.

“I never thought we would do what we did with the playgrounds and see two million people visit them,” he said. “But we can do more for families with this.”

It was with this goal in mind that Baboth helped to create a new company, called SNF Navigator, which includes three shareholders. It connects families with experts on legal issues, tax implications, insurance and investment to provide them with peace of mind.

“This is what we do; help them navigate the system,” he said. “There is nobody out there chaperoning special-needs families and children through this.”

Shehnaz Hussain, founder of the Toronto-based Intuitive Financial Situations, contacted Baboth about his efforts to help families with special needs. Hussain, who has worked in the insurance industry for about 20 years, has raised two children with special needs and understands the particular issues families face. Yet, the industry didn’t provide the necessary services for these families, she said.

“Parents have different needs,” says Hussain, who recently held a 5 a.m. telephone discussion with a concerned parent. “These people don’t have a lot of time. They go about their ways until someone reminds them, they have to protect their child.”

Baboth says special-needs families know about the Ontario Disability Support Program, but may not be aware they can access other government funding to maximize their resources. They can create a registered disability savings plan, establish a Henson Trust to protect their children’s financial future from any government clawback — and then there is the delicate issue of creating a will in case of a family member’s death.

“There are programs out there that people don’t know about,” said Baboth.

If a family needs legal help, Baboth says they can talk to a lawyer, and they have access to a tax specialist, insurance adviser and a will planner.

“And we stay with them. We don’t leave them. We create a village around these families. When there are bumps in the road, we are right there.”

Hussain says she can connect with families and make them aware of their children’s needs. “We help them source the money. We look at mid-term and long-term solutions. A Henson Trust, for instance, is important when they are not around.”

A Henson Trust, which Baboth says is critical to a family’s financial stability, is a trust used among families of people with disabilities in which the beneficiary is considered not to have any legal claim to the property held in trust and therefore the property is not considered an asset of the beneficiary when determining eligibility for Ontario Disability Support Program. It allows the trustees with the discretion to distribute income and capital from the trust to the beneficiary as they see fit.

The concept of the Henson Trust originated in an 1987 Ontario court case when Leonard Henson established a discretionary trust in his will for his disabled daughter Audrey. After Leonard died, the Ontario government terminated his daughter’s benefits, since she inherited her father’s estate. The decision was challenged in court and it was found the trust did not disentitle Audrey from receiving government benefits.

Statistics Canada revealed in a December report that about 8 million Canadians aged 15 and older had one or more disabilities that limited them in their daily activities. The rate of disability in Canada has increased by five per cent since 2017, when 6.2 million people had one or more disabilities.

Baboth said there is an estimated 3.5 million families in Ontario looking after a child with special needs, and he said they are scrambling to understand the system and find the necessary information to help their children.

“Families want to create that financial structure for their children when they become an adult, so they don’t have to worry,” said Baboth

Baboth credits Hussain for making a real impact with families. “She is a compassionate, passionate person. She makes a real connection with them.”

Baboth’s company is about six weeks old and they already have clients because, “there is such a need out there; This is such an underserved market.”

Hussain calls the experience a “whirlwind” as she meets with clients, while adjusting to a new business model. But, she says, it is worth it.

“I sincerely believe the need is there. And we are giving back to the community.”

Baboth finds the entire enterprise liberating. He quotes Mark Twain to reflect on his latest evolution in business that “the two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”

“It’s exciting for me. Sure a playground can provide some relief but here we can actually help people out.”