How do I put money in a special needs trust?

A special needs trust is useless until it has been funded. After all, the trust cannot pay for anything until it has some money! So how does someone move money into a special needs trust? The answer depends on whether you are the trustee of the special needs trust or a non-trustee who wants to contribute.

How to Put Money in a Special Needs Trust if You Are the Trustee

If you are the trustee of a special needs trust, then it is up to you to make sure that the trust is being properly managed. Thus, you will be the one handling all the affairs of the trust and the one actually putting funds into the trust.

The first step is to open a bank account for the trust, if it does not already have one. To do this, you need to go to a bank and explain that you are a trustee of a trust and that you want to open a bank account as the trustee. The bank will likely ask to see the declaration of trust or a trust certificate. I would bring both documents, just in case. You will then deposit the trust money into the new bank account to get it started. The bank account should not be in your name; rather, it should be in the name of the trust. This means that the account should list the name and date of the trust. For example, an account might be in the name of “Janet Milton, Trustee of the Sammy Milton Special Needs Trust dated July 3, 2019.”

Once you have the bank account established, moving money into the special needs trust is easy. All you need to do is make a deposit into the bank account. Once the money is in the bank account, you have successfully transferred funds into the special needs trust.

How to Put Money in a Special Needs Trust if You Are Not the Trustee

If you are not the trustee of the special needs trust, then you cannot directly put money into the special needs trust. However, you can give money to the trustee for the purpose of funding the special needs trust. For example, you can write a check made out to the Sammy Milton Special Needs Trust. You then would deliver the check to the trustee of the Sammy Milton Special Needs Trust, who would then deposit the funds.