Creating an effective trust for your family member with special needs

Caring for someone with special needs can be physically, emotionally, and financially challenging – especially if your loved one is not capable of make rational decisions about money. A Special Needs Trust administered by a trustee with experience in navigating SSI and Medicare, can relieve some of your stress, assure the financial well-being of your loved one, and preserve family harmony.

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Resource Guide for Family Roles and Experts

Building a trusted team of advisors to help with legal, financial and healthcare decisions will help by filling gaps in knowledge where they exist to better create a holistic plan.

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Mid-Year Financial Checkup

The midpoint of the year can be a good time to step back and assess your financial goals to make sure you're still on track and given any changes in the economy and markets as well as your personal situation.

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The Next Steps: Gathering the Information to Make a Plan

You’ve scheduled the meeting, drawn up the agenda and invited the relevant family members. Now what?

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Signs Your Parents Need Help Managing Finances

Even the best financial plan can’t overcome the effects aging have on a person’s ability to make financial decisions. Though people are living healthier for longer, there is already evidence that a person’s financial decision making peaks in their 50s and by age 60, the ability to process...

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The Conversation Every Family Needs to Have

Studies show how difficult it can be for adult children and their parents to talk about their wishes and plans regarding caretaking, finances, estate planning and legacy issues as they age. While most elderly people don't want to become financially dependent on their children, some four in 10 families...

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The conversation you need to have with your parents

Turmoil and mistakes could have been avoided with planning, but these are difficult conversations for families. Often, the focus is on money, a topic fraught with emotion. Sibling rivalry and resentments can interfere with setting priorities. Responsibilities need to be divided fairly, but fairness is often a matter of opinion.

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Who is the Best Choice to Manage Your Trust?

In addition to having the ability, inclination, and time to perform the required duties for your trust, the person you name as trustee should be able to navigate family dynamics and mediate any disputes. For more complex trusts, appointing an agent of the trustee or a corporate trustee may be the best way to keep peace in the family.

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