Finding the Right Trustee For You and Your Family
You know you need to put together a Trust, but have you thought about who to designate as the Trustee? For many people, this is a challenging decision. A Trustee must be reliable and willing to handle many different responsibilities to ensure that a Trust is properly managed and the Beneficiary is taken care of, perhaps for many years. While a close family member may seem like a natural choice, there may not be a family member capable of taking on the responsibilities of acting as trustee.
In the case of Special Needs Trusts, finding the right person is even more complicated: The Trustee must understand the details and eligibility requirements of complex public benefits programs like Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Medicaid, or Section 8 Housing. Failing to do so could mean that the Beneficiary loses these important benefits that they rely on for their quality of life.
Protect Your Finances and Your Beneficiary
Choosing the best Trustee for your situation is a crucial decision that can have long-lasting implications. We’ve done special needs and estate planning since 2007, so we know how important it is to not only create a solid Trust that protects your finances and the Trust’s Beneficiary but to also have the right Trustee who can reliably execute on the wishes you’ve outlined in your Trust.
Our experience doesn’t stop there: we provide independent Trustee services, so you can have the peace of mind that comes from knowing your Trust will be well managed and your Beneficiary taken care of.
We provide a full range of professional Trustee services for Trusts, including Special Needs Trusts and Living Trusts.
Providing Comprehensive and Caring Professional Trustee Services
As your Trustee, we aren’t just here to pay bills. We understand firsthand the concerns and worries you have about making sure your Trust is carefully managed. We take the time to get to know you and your wishes along with the unique needs of your beneficiary.
You aren’t just a number here; we provide personalized attention to help you in a way that you just won’t find at a large bank or other trust administration institutions.
And we’ve done the work: we’re passionate about helping people with challenges, and we’ve worked hard over the years to advocate for people with disabilities. Our advocacy includes successfully pressing for new legislation to help people with disabilities in the State of Vermont, along with serving on boards and committees of organizations that are actively working to promote improved quality of life and rights for people with disabilities.
What We Do
As an Independent Trustee, we provide the following services:
Special Needs Trust Trustee
We act as Trustee for people with disabilities, with attention to the unique circumstances and challenges the Beneficiary may face.
Trustee for Revocable Living Trusts and for older adults
We manage Trusts to look out for the best interests as the Beneficiary ages, helping to protect them from fraud and mismanagement of finances.
Successor Trustee
We provide backup support in case the initial Trustee can no longer act as Trustee or is ready to hand over the reins to someone else.
Trust Investments
We collaborate with dependable outside financial firms to invest your Trust funds and to support the interests of the Beneficiary and the long-term stability of the Trust.
Our Philosophy
We’re all about going the extra mile. As parents and family members of individuals with disabilities ourselves, we understand firsthand the challenges of managing a special needs trust. We apply this insight to everything we do as your Trustee and Trust Administrator.
You can expect personalized attention to the unique circumstances of your Trust, above and beyond what you can find at banks or large trustee companies.
In addition to standard trustee services like accounting and bookkeeping, we build a collaborative team of agencies, social workers, and other support people.
Whether it’s hiring personal care attendants, special education advocates, or care managers, or securing housing and monitoring public benefits, we help hold together the safety and support network to maintain the Beneficiary’s quality of life.
Our goal: To responsibly manage and preserve the trust funds for the long run while also recognizing and taking care of the Beneficiary’s needs in the here and now.
When you need a dependable and ethical Trustee who cares, turn to us for the peace of mind that comes from knowing you and your loved ones are in good hands.
Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.