One of my employees recently lost a sister who has a special needs daughter. Many people would like to help so I am exploring setting up a trust for the daughter with my employee as the manager of the trust. How do I proceed? She may end up as a ward of the state how will these funds be treated in that event?
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States
Thank you for posting your question to JA/Pearl. Legal questions often take time for research or I may be offline so please be patient, I will reply.I am not sure how much money you are talking about so that really determines what is the best option. You can set up a supplemental needs trust for her benefit through an attorney. Since it will all be money from a third party, it can all be used for her benefit even if she becomes a ward of the state. The problem is that setting up an actual trust document can be expensive, probably in the range of 2500.00. Often you can simply set up a bank account at a local bank with your employee as the trustee and it would be in trust for the child and your employee can use it for the child's needs. That is probably your best option where it is donations.
Experience: Actively practicing trial attorney