Too
often, in drafting and implementing SNTs, the emphasis is
on directly supplementing the services available to the
disabled beneficiary. While this is important, it can miss
the mark. It is extremely important to use trust assets
to ensure the involvement of family and friends. These non-traditional
uses of SNTs will be the focal point of this article.
Consider
this example: John, age 30, lives in a group home in Pennsylvania
where he is well established and has many friends. His parents
are deceased. His sister, Alice, lives in Texas and his
brother, Ralph, lives in California.
To
encourage Ralph and Alice to visit John as frequently as
possible, the SNT should pay for all of their travel expenses.
We do not want their spouses grumbling about such expenditures
or a sibling to have to choose between visiting John or
saving money for their own children's college education.
For
similar reasons, a fee should be available to compensate
Alice and Ralph for their time. Some might protest that
siblings should do this without being paid. But their time
is important and we want to encourage - - not discourage
- - involvement. The SNT will also reimburse Alice and Ralph
for any child care expenses, as well as all other expenses
incurred.
Even
if Alice and Ralph live next door to John, there will be
a similar expense for child care, for their time and for
any other pocket expenses incurred.
