<p>Any one experienced a disabled person with a trust set up for their benefit? What are the usual fees charged by a third party to manage that. </p>
<p>My parents want to do this for my sister and due to emotional issues attached, we are wondering about having a 3rd party do the management.</p>
<p>Pick a lawyer that handles estate planning. It’s quite common.</p>
<p>The third party is generally a financial institution. I agree, talk to an attorney that specializes in estate planning to find out how this works. To get an idea of fees, talk to someone at your bank or brokerage firm.</p>
<p>You can get several different quotes from various sources. If possible, it’s good to ask satisfied customers who they have used. Fees can vary considerably. Sometimes/often there is one person appointed to help distribute the funds (often someone whom the family has a long relationship with and trusts to keep the beneficiary’s interests primary) and an institution to invest and manage the funds, do paperwork, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with having a third party, but the fees can eat you alive.</p>
<p>Usually, the trustee would be . . . you, a sibling, maybe with an institutional co-trustee. Even with a lot of emotional issues attached, I would hate to turn that over to a bank, and they WILL charge you through the nose to do something that actually requires thought.</p>
<p>Your parents need to take care in setting up the trust, because if the beneficiary is significantly disabled, unless there are tens of millions of dollars in the trust the last thing anyone wants to do is take away the beneficiary’s Medicaid eligibility, and most trusts will have that effect.</p>
<p>^^^That’s why you need an estate attorney. This is what they do for a living.</p>
<p>Will any sort of trust/annuity be a problem once the disabled person is 65? Doesn’t SSi/DIS change to regular SS?</p>
<p>I know someone whose parents set up a trust for her managed by a Bank. Now, although the trust is still six figures all the income goes to fees. The trust went into effect about 20 years ago. So, in setting up the trust there need to be options - at this point in time a bank is not the way to go - 20 years ago it was. The trust document needs to be flexible so that your sister receives the full benefits of the trust and in 20 years is not told there are no distributions for her due to fees. My friend’s parents used a great estate attorney - but they were not forward looking and had no idea Banks would increase their fees to the point that all income would go to pay the Bank trustee fees. Be careful how your parents structure the trust - consider all possibilities.</p>
<p>Get your parents to an attorney who specializes in Trusts and Estates/Guardianships post haste! There are many, many issues related to taking care an infirmed person for life. Believe me, you haven’t begun to think of all the financial and other problems that can arise. A good T&E attorney can protect all involved parties.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Contact other parents/siblings of disabled adults through support groups–they would be able to give you references, advice.
H and I both have disabled brothers with trusts, but I don’t know much about how they were set up.</p>
<p>Bank trust fees are prohibitive. A family member is the best option. It can be set so that one person manages the $$, investments and appropriate pay-outs, and other family members can collectively change who the trustee is. Good luck.</p>