Who Gets Special Needs Trust Balance on Death of the Beneficiary?
A special needs trust, of course, is for the primary benefit of the individual with a disability. But what happens on the death of the beneficiary? The trust might spell out its “remainder” beneficiaries — the ones who receive the balance on the death of the disabled beneficiary. But sometimes the trust just says that […]
Trust Modification May Not Bind Future Beneficiaries
Families often agree to modify the effect of a decedent’s will or trust. Does such a modification always bind future beneficiaries? A recent California case provides an example. It also gives us a chance to explore differences from state to state. The California facts McKie Roth, Sr., died in 1988. His second wife, Yvonne, survived […]
Hopeful Planning Fails in Two Special Needs Cases
Hopeful planning: when your estate plan is based around your hope that everything will turn out fine. We see it a lot. Often it works. Too often it does not. Two cases we read last week illustrate how hopeful planning can go wrong when facts change after the planner’s death. Both happened to be California […]
Surcharge Order Entered Against SNT Trustee
It can be hard for the trustee of a special needs trust to figure out what expenditures are permitted. The trust document might give some direction. Medicaid and Social Security eligibility workers will review the actual expenditures. And often, a court is looking over the trustee, as well. The court is the only one, though, […]
Trust Protector’s Power Tested in California Case
We have written before about “trust protectors,” a relatively new concept in American trust law. Because there is not a lot of case law on the subject, the limits of a trust protector’s power (and duty) has not been well-established. Now a new California case fills in a little more detail. Trust protectors — a […]
Assuring Your Burial or Cremation Wishes Are Followed
Do you have specific burial or cremation wishes? Perhaps you have explained those to your family. Maybe you have written them down. You might even have made the arrangements — and paid for them in advance. Will your family — and the funeral provider — follow your wishes? Funeral/burial law varies by state First, we […]
Special Needs Trustee Fees Set By Corporate Fee Schedule
Special needs trusts can help provide extra benefits for someone receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid or (in Arizona) AHCCCS or ALTCS services. Anyone planning to leave money for an individual on public benefits should consider a special needs trust. Keep in mind, though, that there will be trustee fees for any professional serving as […]
Trust Benefiting Lawyer Creates Undue Influence Presumption
VOLUME 24 NUMBER 21 To be valid, a will or trust must reflect the intentions of a competent signer. If the signer is deemed to have been subject to the undue influence of someone else, the document can be invalidated. Even documents carefully prepared by lawyers sometimes get successfully challenged. When the lawyer is a […]
Surcharge Against Trustee for Benefiting Self
VOLUME 24 NUMBER 13 We see problems of trustees misbehaving all too often. Frequently those misbehaviors start from small decisions and are magnified over time. A trustee can be “surcharged” for actions benefiting the trustee at the expense of the trust. That can mean penalties as serious as forfeiture of all rights to receive benefits […]
Trust Lawyer’s Fees Reduced by Over $110,000
FEBRUARY 27, 2017 VOLUME 24 NUMBER 9 General rule: a trust lawyer’s fees can be charged to the trust, at least where the trustee has not misbehaved. Significant exception: courts can reduce fees for a variety of reasons, and “misbehaved” may have different meanings. The story Patricia Campbell was trustee of a special needs trust […]