When you establish a special needs trust pay particular attention to the most important part: choosing a trustee. The choice of trustee really determines how well the trust will work.

There are several different types of special needs trust. Some are established by a parent or other person for the benefit of someone with a disability. Others are established by the individual themselves, or their guardian or a court. There are also pooled trusts. But they all share a common element: choosing the trustee controls how well the trust will satisfy the beneficiary’s needs.

Who makes a good trustee? As we discuss in this week’s podcast episode, the perfect trustee knows law, accounting, public benefits, taxes, investing, social work and medicine. Oh, and they are immortal.

Family members absolutely should be involved in care and expenditures for the beneficiary’s benefit. But they don’t always make the best trustees. Sometimes choosing a professional trustee is a better idea. Sometimes the value of a pooled trust can be the easy involvement of a professional group.

Oh, and by the way: the same considerations apply to choosing a trustee for any trust. But they get heightened when the beneficiary has a disability and the public benefits system kicks in.