Q: My adult child is moving into a group home. He is living with an intellectual disability. I want him to make friends and have a good place to live, before I die. This will help him to handle my death better, with having support from the group home. My question is “Can his special needs trust pay for a bedroom suit and a TV for his private room, and a living room set that everyone in the group home will use?”
A: You are doing the right thing by preparing in advance for how your son will be cared for, after your death. Your son’s special needs trust can be used to pay for items or services for the sole benefit of your son. The bedroom suit can be paid by the trust, as well as the TV. The living room suit cannot be paid from the trust because other people will reap benefit from these items, including your son. The group home should supply living room furniture for all of its residents to use.
Darlene A. Kemp, MPH, MBA-HCM, Executive Director – Vista Points Special Needs Trusts, www.vistapoints.org – 888-422-4076
