It is not uncommon for parents who are creating a supplemental needs trust (SNT) for a loved one with disabilities to assume that naming one of the child’s siblings as the trustee is a perfect solution. They often believe that someone who’s grown up alongside the beneficiary is best positioned to understand their needs and will naturally look out for their interests. Unfortunately, they often don’t see this arrangement’s potential risks and how the role may affect family chemistry long after parents are gone.
The first step in special needs planning should always be candid communication. If asked outright, many siblings may admit that they don’t want to be responsible for managing their sibling’s money and don’t want to be in the position of declining a request for the use of funds. Trusteeship can often entail stressful, time-consuming responsibility, which must be shouldered in addition to other personal obligations, such as those to the trustee’s own family and career.
There are a number of ways, other than becoming sole trustee, that a sibling can support a loved one with special needs. They could be named a co-trustee, with their responsibilities matched to their skill set and available time. They could be named a trust protector, monitoring the trustee’s performance and ensuring that decisions were in the beneficiary’s best interest. They could be named guardian, if the severity of their sibling’s disability prevents them from making important decisions on their own behalf. Most importantly, they could focus their energies on advocating for their sibling with service providers and others who affect the individual’s quality of life.
In most cases, the sibling relationship is life’s longest. Rather than burdening it with the responsibilities of trusteeship, it’s often better to leave brothers and sisters free to deepen their ties by simply spending quality time together.
