November 2022

Whoever you select to oversee your trust will owe a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of your trust. Hopefully, your trustee will not encounter any legal issues while administering your trust. Still, sometimes a trustee cannot avoid a date in court. Smart Asset explains that someone cannot directly litigate a trust, but a trustee may become the target of a lawsuit . It is possible a person could sue a trust or contest it in court. Here is a look at how these two concepts differ. Why people sue a trust A person suing a trust is usually seeking compensation from the assets contained in the trust. To take an example, if your trustee gets into an auto accident while driving a car titled to the trust, the injury victims may sue to collect money from the trust itself as a way to get damages from the trustee. Creditors could also sue your trustee to collect trust money to pay off debts owed by your trustee. Why people contest a trust Contesting a trust involves litigating the terms of the trust. This can happen if someone thinks the trust lacks validity, perhaps because a malicious party forged the trust documents or doctored a legitimate trust document. Sometimes family members suspect the trust creator was the victim of undue influence or elder abuse. They could believe a relative created a trust according to the whims of an abusive party. Relatives of the abused party may try to get a court to remove the trustee. A good trustee may inspire confidence  The possibility that your trustee may have to deal with litigation is a good reason to select a competent trustee. Someone who acts in a professional and ethical manner may assure your beneficiaries that your trust is in good hands.

If you have a friend who has a relative with a disability or other special needs, your friend may have asked you to be a trustee of a special needs trust. Before you agree to do so, though, you should know exactly what the role involves. A special needs trust is a unique estate planning tool that allows individuals to set aside funds for the benefit of someone else without jeopardizing that person’s eligibility for needs-based government benefits. As a trustee of a special needs trust, you would oversee and manage the trust. We strongly urge that all trustees of special needs trusts engage an attorney to advise them on this highly complex rol Keeping the beneficiary eligible for government help Arguably, the most important duty any trustee of a special needs performs is ensuring the beneficiary continues to qualify for government assistance. According to USA.gov, there are many public benefits programs for which a beneficiary may be eligible. This means you must closely scrutinize all disbursement requests to determine whether they are permissible under the rule of the program that gives benefits to the beneficiary. Complying with investment, reporting, and recordkeeping obligations Much of being a trustee of a special needs trust involves investing trust assets and ordinary reporting and recordkeeping. As part of these duties, you may have to invest funds as a prudent investor would, maintain trust records, prepare reports, and file taxes. It is important to note, though, that you do not have to necessarily accomplish all these tasks on your own. Indeed, you can outsource the investing to investment advisors and some of the reporting and recordkeeping duties to accountants or other professionals. Filling gaps in the beneficiary’s care  As a trustee of a special needs trust, you will have intimate knowledge of the beneficiary’s situation. This can lead to some of the more rewarding aspects of being a trustee. Ultimately, if the beneficiary needs something to thrive, you may have to find social service providers, doctors, therapists, or others to fill the gaps.

If your child has special academic needs, his or her school may come up with an individual educational plan. According to the University of Washington, an IEP ensures your child receives specialized instruction and other educational accommodations. A team of teachers, educational professionals and advocates should develop your child’s IEP with your family’s input. Still, when you receive the proposed IEP, you may disagree with its approach or something else. You can verbally object You know your child better than anyone else does. Consequently, if the IEP does not seem to be right for your son or daughter, it makes sense to verbally object to it. You may even be able to do so during the drafting stage. Your verbal objection may encourage school professionals to rework the IEP to better suit your child’s needs. You can officially reject the IEP If your verbal objections do not do the trick, you may have to officially reject the IEP. To do so, you must sign the rejection portion of the plan and return it to school administrators. If you only object to part of the plan, it may be okay to accept the overall plan and add notations to the provisions with which you disagree.  You can lodge an official complaint Even after working with the school district, you may not have a meeting of the minds about your child’s IEP. If you reach an impasse and believe your child is suffering some type of harm, you can probably lodge an official complaint based on specific grounds. Ultimately, to ensure your child receives the special education he or she deserves, you must understand all your options and be ready to fully exercise all your legal rights.

Whoever you select to oversee your trust will owe a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of your trust. Hopefully, your trustee will not encounter any legal issues while administering your trust. Still, sometimes a trustee cannot avoid a date in court. Smart Asset explains that someone cannot directly litigate a trust, but a trustee may become the target of a lawsuit . It is possible a person could sue a trust or contest it in court. Here is a look at how these two concepts differ. Why people sue a trust A person suing a trust is usually seeking compensation from the assets contained in the trust. To take an example, if your trustee gets into an auto accident while driving a car titled to the trust, the injury victims may sue to collect money from the trust itself as a way to get damages from the trustee. Creditors could also sue your trustee to collect trust money to pay off debts owed by your trustee. Why people contest a trust Contesting a trust involves litigating the terms of the trust. This can happen if someone thinks the trust lacks validity, perhaps because a malicious party forged the trust documents or doctored a legitimate trust document. Sometimes family members suspect the trust creator was the victim of undue influence or elder abuse. They could believe a relative created a trust according to the whims of an abusive party. Relatives of the abused party may try to get a court to remove the trustee. A good trustee may inspire confidence  The possibility that your trustee may have to deal with litigation is a good reason to select a competent trustee. Someone who acts in a professional and ethical manner may assure your beneficiaries that your trust is in good hands.

If you have a friend who has a relative with a disability or other special needs, your friend may have asked you to be a trustee of a special needs trust. Before you agree to do so, though, you should know exactly what the role involves. A special needs trust is a unique estate planning tool that allows individuals to set aside funds for the benefit of someone else without jeopardizing that person’s eligibility for needs-based government benefits. As a trustee of a special needs trust, you would oversee and manage the trust. We strongly urge that all trustees of special needs trusts engage an attorney to advise them on this highly complex rol Keeping the beneficiary eligible for government help Arguably, the most important duty any trustee of a special needs performs is ensuring the beneficiary continues to qualify for government assistance. According to USA.gov, there are many public benefits programs for which a beneficiary may be eligible. This means you must closely scrutinize all disbursement requests to determine whether they are permissible under the rule of the program that gives benefits to the beneficiary. Complying with investment, reporting, and recordkeeping obligations Much of being a trustee of a special needs trust involves investing trust assets and ordinary reporting and recordkeeping. As part of these duties, you may have to invest funds as a prudent investor would, maintain trust records, prepare reports, and file taxes. It is important to note, though, that you do not have to necessarily accomplish all these tasks on your own. Indeed, you can outsource the investing to investment advisors and some of the reporting and recordkeeping duties to accountants or other professionals. Filling gaps in the beneficiary’s care  As a trustee of a special needs trust, you will have intimate knowledge of the beneficiary’s situation. This can lead to some of the more rewarding aspects of being a trustee. Ultimately, if the beneficiary needs something to thrive, you may have to find social service providers, doctors, therapists, or others to fill the gaps.

If your child has special academic needs, his or her school may come up with an individual educational plan. According to the University of Washington, an IEP ensures your child receives specialized instruction and other educational accommodations. A team of teachers, educational professionals and advocates should develop your child’s IEP with your family’s input. Still, when you receive the proposed IEP, you may disagree with its approach or something else. You can verbally object You know your child better than anyone else does. Consequently, if the IEP does not seem to be right for your son or daughter, it makes sense to verbally object to it. You may even be able to do so during the drafting stage. Your verbal objection may encourage school professionals to rework the IEP to better suit your child’s needs. You can officially reject the IEP If your verbal objections do not do the trick, you may have to officially reject the IEP. To do so, you must sign the rejection portion of the plan and return it to school administrators. If you only object to part of the plan, it may be okay to accept the overall plan and add notations to the provisions with which you disagree.  You can lodge an official complaint Even after working with the school district, you may not have a meeting of the minds about your child’s IEP. If you reach an impasse and believe your child is suffering some type of harm, you can probably lodge an official complaint based on specific grounds. Ultimately, to ensure your child receives the special education he or she deserves, you must understand all your options and be ready to fully exercise all your legal rights.