Estate Planning

Stop Worrying! Create a Special Needs Trust for your “Special Child” Now
It was a matter of seconds. At birth, the fetus did not get enough oxygen in her brain. Eli was born perfectly normal physically, but with serious learning and motor impediments. When she turned three, it was obvious to everyone. Eli was put under psychiatric treatment and prescribed some heavy medications to control her severe hyperactivity, attention deficit and erratic behavior.
The medications were effective partially taking care of some of her symptoms, but their side effects were devastating. Eli lost all her body hair, including her eyelids and eyebrows. And even when she became able to socialize up to a certain degree, Eli would never be able to advance much in academics or to hold a job, get married or raise a family. In other words, Eli was a “special child”. She lived in a special world. Eli would always need close assistance and medical care. Some of her medications were quite expensive.
Knowing this, Tom, Eli’s father, a successful entrepreneur, became deeply concern about Eli’s future. He was especially concern about Eli’s welfare in times when he wouldn’t be around to provide for her. Who would pay for Eli’s home care and medical needs once he’d leave this existence? He decided to consult his attorney.
The attorney suggested creating a trust on Eli’s behalf. He would draft a legal document establishing an agreement between three persons to take care of all of Eli’s future financial needs. This it how he explained it to Tom:
Tom would the “trustor”, the owner and founder of the trust. Tom would deposit an initial amount of money in a trust bank account. That account would be in the name and managed by an administrator. Legally this person is called the “Trustee”. The trustee would be in charged of issuing all monthly payments related to Eli’s medical and home care. The trustee would also keeping record and prepare reports of all financial transactions related to the trust fund. Eli’s financial needs included shelter, food, clothing, medications, entertainment and someone to watch her. The trustee would make sure these service providers would get regularly paid to avoid any interruption of their services. Eli of course, would be the “beneficiary”, the person on whose benefit the trust was formed. Tom would be able to transfer money to the trust bank account as needed. This is called a “special needs trust”. This is one type of “inter vivos” trust, meaning that it works during the trustor’s lifetime.
Eli’s dad would have to create a “testamentary” kind of trust as well, the attorney suggested. This kind of trust becomes effective only at the time of one’s death. This trust would be created in Tom’s Last Will. Some of Tom’s estate property would be destined to fund Eli’s trust fund.
Eli’s mom, Theresa, was enormously pleased when Tom got home from consulting his attorney and told her the news. The couple could now stop worrying and dedicate their lives to nurture and enjoy Eli’s company, instead. Once away, they both would be able to rest in peace knowing that Eli would be provided for everything she would ever need, even in their absence.
There are several other considerations to take into account when forming a Trust. You might want to designate a family member as trustee or you might want to hire an accountant. In the later case you would have to provide in the document how much is this person going to be paid for his or her services. You can do all sort of different things when creating a trust and there are trusts for every particular need. The greatest advantage of forming a trust like Eli’s is that the property you pass unto it is exempted from estate taxes. Also, the property transferred to a testamentary trust does not go into probate court, becoming accessible to the beneficiary regardless of every other consideration. Trusts are a great ways to save money and to secure some one else’s –less fortunate- future.
This article intends only to demonstrate one of the many ways a trust can take care of one family’s concern. To create a trust, you might want to get some professional assistance. Don’t wait until is too late. Take care of your loved ones now. You will be eternally grateful and your loved ones too.

Private citizens create trusts for many reasons. One particular reason why many people create a trust is to prevent certain assets or capital from going to probate court when you die. A way to do this is by creating a trust in favor of a beneficiary who at the time of the formation of the trust is incapable of managing the property that is intended for him or her, either because he or she is a minor, or because he or she has been legally declared incapacitated. For example, a parent can create a trust in favor of his three minor children, providing that the funds transferred to the trustee will be used to finance the children’s future college studies in equal parts. Another example would be the case in which a parent creates a trust in favor of his or her autistic child to provide for his or her future special needs, called special needs trust, for the child’s personal and medical care.

In simple words, a trust is a legal arrangement made between three persons, generally speaking. The owner of the trust is called the trustor. The person whose name the trustor is going to transfer the property is the trustee. The trustee has the obligation of managing and protecting the property in benefit of a third person, the beneficiary. Instead of persons, there could be an institution. There are two broad categories or types of trusts: living revocable trust and testamentary trust. Living trusts are those created to operate during the trustor’s lifetime. The testamentary trust starts working when the trustor dies.

Living trusts, also known as “inter vivos” trusts, are exempt from the probate process. In other words, the money or the property you put in it does not have to go to court after your death. This will prevent the costs associated with probate court and reduce the taxes associated with the property you are leaving behind.

Among living trusts there are two classifications: private or charitable, depending on who they are meant to benefit. Private trusts are those created for the benefit of a particular citizen or group of citizens. Such are the trusts created for the benefit of one or several family members, like to fund college studies or to support the special needs of a handicapped relative or friend. Charitable trusts are created to financially benefit a cause, a class or group of persons which the trustor wants to provide support. We hear of this type of trusts all the time, especially in reference to celebrities. A trust in benefit of the American Red Cross, for example, would be a charitable type of trust.

A trust can also be either revocable or irrevocable, depending on its purpose. In a revocable trust, the grantor can change any of the conditions of the trust, even after the trust has commenced. On the other hand, in an irrevocable trust, the trustor waives his or her right to make any changes once the trust is created.

There are many other types of trusts that can be used to meet your specific needs or purposes. Regardless of what kind of need you have, creating a trust will always save you money.

“I never promised you a rose garden”, are the lyrics of a song. But you can surely make it less hard for your spouse, children, and other relatives if you leave them detailed instructions on how you want your estate to be handled after your death.

A will is the legal document that will provide for the disposition and handling of all matters related to your estate when you die. It is in your last will that you will name your heirs and beneficiaries. You will designate who is going to get what from your properties. As importantly, in your will you will also determine how are your financial obligations and liabilities going to be handled, even your funeral. You do not want to give your loved ones the headache of having to figure all these things out by themselves, especially when they are still grieving your loss.