Settlement Trust Services

helping families through Settlement Trusts

No one plans on a tragedy happening to their family. When it does, families are left stricken with grief, confused and thrown into a system they know nothing about. It is extremely hard to make sense of both the accident that has happened and the legal proceedings that follow. Trial attorneys are retained to assist you with the immediate needs, and Northwest Trustee & Management Services will walk beside you for your benefit and the benefit of your injured family member.

Why are trusts created?

A trust is created when a person has suffered a severe injury and a payout has resulted from litigation or a private settlement (called a “self-settled” special needs trust). The assets of a special needs trust are not counted by the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) as eligible resources available to the beneficiary and therefore the beneficiary may receive state aid.

This state aid usually includes payment for room, board, caregiving services and medication. A special needs trust pays for extra supplemental needs above those items which could include education, travel, or a supplement to caregiver wages. The trustee has to be very careful to coordinate trust payouts with the state regulations, otherwise there is a risk the beneficiary could lose state support. We work closely with family members, the medical community, state services and the court system to make sure the beneficiary obtains all state or federal benefits to which he or she is entitled.

What we do as trustee of your settlement trust

• We will meet with you and learn about the situation of your family or those under your care.
• If there is a Guardian of the Person who is not a family member, we will meet with him or her to understand the physical and/or mental situation of the injured person.
• We will engage with your attorney and with an investment advisor to manage the
  funds to meet the needs of the injured person’s specific situation.
• We will maximize state benefits.
• We will work with the family or Guardian of the Person to create an environment
  in which the injured person is not only safe but will allow him or her to thrive.
• We will continue this relationship throughout the lifetime of the beneficiary— adjusting to changes in the injured person’s health and adapting to life’s circumstances.
• When circumstances present themselves, we will hire a care manager and/or a care giver to assist in the management of the beneficiary.