What are the legal concerns when creating a Special Needs Plan?
A Special Needs Trust document will provide a trustee specific instructions in providing for the beneficiary. Generally, the trustee has sole discretion in making distributions… Read More »Special Needs Trust Distributions
Potentially, you’ve thought about or have already accomplished the creation of a Special Needs Trust for your loved one. The trust is usually either created… Read More »Understand your Special Needs Trust
A common question that arises concerning a Special Needs Trust is: “Should a family member be the trustee (or the successor trustee) for the trust”? This is a great question with a simple “yes” or “no” answer.Read More »Should you be the trustee?
It is a good idea to have a professional trustee review your Special Needs Trust document. If you have just created a Trust or need your existing Trust reviewed, a professional trustee can provide you a review from a Corporate Trustees perspective. Although they are NOT attorneys and will NOT provide legal advice, a professional trustee works with (and lives with) the instructions contained in a Trust document every day. In essence, they are able to provide you details on how the Trust language reads from an administrative point of view, utilizing their trustee expertise.Read More »Special Needs Trust Review
In a Special Needs Trust, you may find it best to appoint a family member as the Trust Advisory Committee rather than as the Trustee. Many parents believe that a capable sibling of a disabled child would be the best trustee; however, this generally does not work out well for the family.Read More »The Trust Advisory Committee
What is it and what does it do? A competent, responsible adult should consider having a Durable Powers of Attorney. This legal document allows a person (the Principal) to appoint another person or organization (the Agent or Attorney-in-fact) to act on his or her behalf in all matters designated in the document. Read More »Durable Powers of Attorney
Have you been named as a successor trustee of a Special Needs Trust or are you creating a trust and need to select someone for that role? If the answer is yes, you might be wondering what you should do, where you should begin, and whether or not you are prepared for that role? The following checklist will provide you direction if you are about to embark in that role or if you are deciding who you should name as your successor trustee for a Special Needs Trust.Read More »Successor Trustee for a Special Needs Trust
A Special Needs Trust is used when you have a loved one in your life that will need some manner of assistance in the future. The amount of assistance can vary from protecting against basic financial vulnerabilities to providing full 24-hour care. If you have a Special Needs loved one in your life, regardless if their condition is mild or severe, you should consider the use of a Special Needs Trust in your planning. Read More »What does a Special Needs Trust accomplish?
When planning for the future of a Special Needs loved one, having the right legal documents is paramount. You may be using a Last Will & Testament or you may be using Living Trusts to transfer assets to your beneficiaries in the future. Of course, multiple approaches work; however, please keep in mind these simple concerns when putting together your legal documents when planning for the future of your Special Needs loved one.Read More »Some Legal Concerns – Special Needs Trusts
