APRIL 13, 2015 VOLUME 22 NUMBER 14
Are you named as trustee of a special needs trust? Are you a trust beneficiary, wondering about how the trust should be administered? Or are you a parent or grandparent of an individual with a disability, wondering about what a special needs trust might actually look like in practice? Good news: there is a free resource that will help you understand these unusual trusts, and in some detail.
The Special Needs Alliance, a national organization of lawyers with extensive experience with special needs planning and special needs trust administration, has long maintained (and updated) its Handbook for Trustees (“Administering a Special Needs Trust”) online. There is even a Spanish language version. You can print out the Handbook, or order a printed copy from the Alliance.
(While you’re there, incidentally, you might want to check out the past editions of The Voice, the SNA’s periodic newsletter. There is a lot of really good information, with terrific detail and suggestions. This organization is very willing to share good ideas and explanations.)
What will you learn from “Administering a Special Needs Trust”? A sampling of some of the most important elements:
- Understand the difference between self-settled special needs trusts and third-party special needs trusts. You might well have that basic understanding already — the former are usually funded with personal injury settlements or unrestricted inheritances received by individuals with disabilities, and the latter are usually funded with family inheritances left, with proper planning, directly to the trust. But the Handbook will help you understand the significant differences in administration between the two types of trusts.
- Figure out the Social Security Administration’s concept of “In-Kind Support and Maintenance.” What is ISM, and why do you care? It’s the counter-intuitive calculation that determines how much a recipient’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payment will be reduced if someone (a trust, a parent or a generous stranger) pays for the recipient’s food and/or shelter. The Handbook gives some examples to help you grasp this odd concept.
- Learn how taxation of special needs trusts works. Spoiler alert: the self-settled special needs trust is always a “grantor” trust, and that means it is taxed exactly as if there was no trust at all. Third-party trusts are harder to generalize about. OK — that wasn’t much of a spoiler, since you now have to go read the Handbook to figure out what those terms mean.
- Appreciate the differences (and they are legion) between beneficiaries who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) payments. Bonus: you can also learn how an SSI recipient might shift to SSDI payments upon the retirement or death of a parent.
- Identify which payments will be treated as “housing” for SSI calculation purposes. Rent payments are easy. How about homeowners insurance? Homeowners Association payments? Garbage pickup? Internet, cable, newspaper?
- One common special needs trust payment is for vehicle operation and maintenance. Can a trust pay for gas? Repairs? Insurance? Read the Handbook and find out. (Spoiler alert: yes.)
- Get a brief description of trust administration rules. Can the trustee “invest” in their own business? Hire a professional care manager, or a financial planner?
The Special Needs Alliance’s Handbook is less than 20 pages long, so it is not the ultimate authority on special needs trust administration. It is an excellent introduction to the difficult questions, and it provides answers to many of the most common questions. There are also a number of other resources we regularly suggest:
Managing a Special Needs Trust: A Guide for Trustees (2012 Edition) by Jackins, Blank, Macy and Shulman.
Special People, Special Planning: Creating a Safe Legal Haven for Families with Special Needs by Hoyt and Pollock.
Special Needs Trusts: Protect Your Child’s Financial Future by Elias and Fuller.