Trustee Handbook for Special Needs Planning

A special needs trust can be a very powerful aid in managing care for a family member with a disability. It can provide supplemental items like therapy, respite care, dental work, companions, entertainment, education — all without interfering with the beneficiary’s SSI, Medicaid or other government programs. A special needs trust can be a flexible tool. It can also be very difficult and confusing to administer.

Have you been named as trustee of a special needs trust? Have you created a special needs trust, and wonder what the job of trustee is actually like? Are you a trust beneficiary, trying to figure out what the trustee is permitted — and required — to do?

As a member of the Special Needs Alliance, Attorney Emma Hemness understands how important it is to have the best resources. This free booklet on administering special needs trusts is available to you for downloading. In plain English, it can help you understand choices as well as obligations.

For additional resources, please visit the Special Needs Alliance website.