Please -- I made a Trust Fund Mistake

[WhatsAPro]

Please, if anyone knows anything about trust funds and things of that nature, please respond.

When my brother was injured, I went home and tried to get a trust fund set up for my brother right away so we can fund raise and not worry about money being taking away;

Well, I found a lawyer and he made up Bylaws that I know are good for our cause. The problem is, when i filed for a EIN number I thought I was all set. So I set up a bank account trust fund for my bro with the by laws and my temp EIN number....

Well, 3 or 4 months have passed and my Aunt was asking me about some form with a stamp of approval. I dont' have one. I apparently diddn't set up the trust fund at all and all the money is in my bro's name.

My bro can't get food stamps or anything because of this. And he has a debt for a car that he doesn't even own and was repoed. I know the debt is his fault, but if you financed a car at 7K and they are trying to collect 12K from him their is somethin wrong with that in my head....

Could someone please tell me if I should xfer the money raised by hard work and fundraising out of this account for safe keeping or can I still set up a trust and put this money in... Am I screwed in this situation..

Please keep in mind that i'm a 23 year old college student and work full time, I don't know much about trust funds or anything too complicated with finances.

Thanks so much for you time.

Mark

[carl]

If you trust the lawyer's advice, I suggest that you go back to him/her and find out IF you did anything wrong. He/She should do it pro bono (lawyer talk for no charge), or you can use part of the money raised to pay. Sounds to me like you might have two separate problems. The IRS does write back when the EIN number is made permanent - I have no idea how long it takes.
In my opinion (BTW, worth nothing), the money raised should NOT be counted as your brother's income as long as you deposited it into the separate account for the trust and used it properly. Also, there are alternatives where people with catastrophic situations can set up accounts with certain non-profits which also makes the donations tax deductible and it can be used for approved expenses. Do a search here (CC) on something like "non profit."
Good luck,
Carl

[darty]

Hi,

I had an OBRA trust fund whic protected me for years, it has since been disolved but it was written in such a way that any money put in it was reserved for all my non-medical expences like vacations, cars and I could even use it to pay a credit card I had. Here is a link to some information, mine was drawn up in Chicago but you need someone who knows what they are doing so do your homework

http://www.altonweb.com/cs/downsyndr...spainobra.html

[Sue Pendleton]

You need to do a "special needs trust" not a basic trust.