It can be worrisome to have a child who has a serious disability. After all, your son or daughter might not be able to work as an adult. Luckily, there are probably some public benefits available, provided your child has limited assets and income.
As you probably know, means-tested public benefits are often meager. If you want to boost your child’s quality of life, you might want to set up a special needs trust and name a trustee to manage it. This person is responsible for a variety of tasks.
Managerial duties
According to U.S. Bank, trustees have many managerial and administrative duties, including recordkeeping and reporting. While trustees do not have to be accountants or other financial professionals, having a working knowledge of administrative functions can be beneficial.
Investment duties
You probably want the money you put in the trust to grow. The trustee should be able to manage investments on behalf of the trust. He or she can delegate this task to an investment professional, however.
Special duties
For your child to be eligible for government benefits, he or she must not use funds from the trust on the same expenses that public benefits traditionally cover. This means your trustee should be familiar with the program’s rules and closely scrutinize each disbursement request.
Ultimately, because of the in-depth tasks special needs trustees must accomplish, it is imperative for you to spend some time choosing the right person for the job. For more information about special needs trusts, please contact our firm.
