Questions to Ask Potential Trustee

Tom O'Brien

Revised October 20, 1998

Who is in charge of your organization?

Who will be my contact person? How long has this person worked for your organization? Can I meet him/her now?

How do I contact you in event of an emergency?

How many people work for your organization? Describe staff turnover.

Will you agree to act as Co-Trustee with a family member?

What is process for requesting a disbursement?

How long does it take to get a check issued for an approved disbursement?

Fees - how does the trustee charge: hourly, percentage, both?

- which is best for particular circumstances?

Predict the changes in your organization over the next 20 years. 40 years.

How do you go about assisting individuals or families who need help finding resources for medical, therapeutic, educational, personal care or other services related to disabilities?

For a beneficiary with limited family involvement, what is your practice for staying in touch with the client?

I need to pay for home care; How do you recommend I find a worker, what is it likely to cost? How do you arrange to pay the person? Are there government programs for this?

How do you manage cases that are, say, 50 miles for your office? 100 miles? in another State?

What geographical areas do you serve? How does trustee communicate with beneficiary?

How much does an electric wheelchair cost?

What is the trustee's knowledge of: disabilities, Medicare, Medicaid and SSI?

These are very specific detail questions about entitlements which a trustee should be able to answer:

- Do you know what the ISM rule is?

- What is the difference between medicare and medicaid

- What is the difference between SSI and SSDI

- Is there a difference in how the trust is handled between beneficiaries on SSI and those

on SSDI?

- What is the 1/3 reduction rule (VTR), and how do you decide when to apply it

Pose hypothetical questions, e.g. -

- If we want to buy a car, how do you handle it?

- How about a house? Or a motorcycle?

- Travel?

- If I want a stereo, what do I do?

If I am dissatisfied with how the account is being handled, whom do I contact? What if I remain dissatisfied?

If I ask you to resign, what will you do?

Investment portfolio

- Own instruments at all/exclusively?

- Added costs/fees for financial management?

What is the trustee's investment approach?

- Allocation of portfolio: what criteria used to determine?

Does the trustee use a pooled account?

Ask to see a routine ledger report such as is sent to clients. Is it understandable to an ordinary person?

How often can reports of transactions be sent out?

How willing is trustee to let family/client/TAC influence actual investments, (e.g. - using broker of family's choice)?

What is the amount of assets under management? What is the allocation of assets managed by type of investment?

What is the number of special needs trusts managed? What percentage of trusts have special needs provisions?

What services other than managing trusts does the organize provide.

What is trustee's view of role of TAC. Does trustee consider itself to have liability for bad TAC decisions? (Answer - probably.)

Is the trustee bonded or insured? For how much?

Is the trustee audited? If so, by an independent auditor?

Ask to describe court reporting requirements - is trustee current in knowledge of requirements?

What activities of the trust are likely to generate attorney fees?

Who represents the trustee in court. What is