About the Lifetime Advocacy Plus Master Pooled Asset Special Needs Trust
Lifetime Advocacy Plus is a 61-year-old federally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit agency that has a wide-range of expertise in serving individuals with significant life challenges. In 2002, inspired by its mission and vision, the agency determined its fiduciary programming should include a d4c Pooled Trust. The resultant trust, the first of its kind in Washington State, has been vetted and approved by the Social Security Administration, multiple Superior Courts, the Department of Social and Health Services, and other interested and involved parties. To date, many beneficiaries have joined the Master Pooled Trust, which allows them to easily preserve their public benefits and enjoy the supplemental extras their trusts can provide.
The Lifetime Advocacy Plus Master Pooled Asset Special Needs Trust meets all qualifications for d4c Trusts as defined by Social Security Act Section 1917. Assets held in these Trusts are treated as excluded resources and so protect the public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid.
So how is the Master Pooled Asset Special Needs Trust different from other trusts?
This Trust document is already in place, avoiding attorney drafting fees and allowing for quick and easy establishment of an individual account.
Age 65 is not a barrier to entry for this Trust. Anyone, regardless of age may become a member.
There is no maximum or minimum amount required to fund the Trust. Lifetime Advocacy Plus endeavors to serve beneficiaries at the lowest cost possible. Beneficiaries who open Trusts with small amounts are strongly encouraged to use the Trust funds as soon as possible. Because some Trust accounts are very simple to administer and others are more complex, each individual Trust is billed only for the amount of time it requires, this is done on an hourly basis in five-minute increments.
There is a choice provided to the beneficiary of how they would like any remaining funds to be used at the time of their passing, whether that be to satisfy the Medicaid lien and then bequeath the balance to a loved one or a charitable organization, or allow LA+ to retain the funds in the Master Trust which is then available to beneficiaries who outlive their funds and to support the Master Trust.
Once the beneficiaries’ individual account is depleted, and they remain disabled per Subpart 1 of Part 416 of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations, they may submit disbursement requests to be fulfilled through the pooled funds left behind by other beneficiaries who have passed away. As of February 7th 2002, over $1,000,000.00 has been disbursed to beneficiaries in this manner.
How to join the Master Trust
Review the trust here. [PDF]
Call our Intake Team at (206) 367-8055 with any questions
Fill out an Application and execute an Agreement to Establish an Individual Account and a Statement Regarding the Master Pooled Asset Special Needs Trust (documents available for download on this page) and submit them to our Intake Team by mail (send to Lifetime Advocacy Plus, 19203 36th Ave West Suite 101, Lynnwood, WA 98036).
Fund the Trust – send the funds either by check or wire fund. Our agency establishes an individual Trust bank account.
LA+ Expertise
Our agency originated and has been administering Special Needs Trusts since the 1960s and managing Master Pooled Asset Special Needs Trust since the instrument’s inception on February 7th, 2002.
For over two decades the Lifetime Advocacy Plus Pooled Trust has been a sensible special needs trust vehicle for hundreds of individuals. Our commitment to them and those who follow is to provide trustworthy and responsive trust services at a fair and reasonable cost.