Trust Services

Trusts permit individuals with disabilities to maintain their government benefits and provide supplemental extras to ensure a higher quality of life.

ACT for Life Services Pooled Trusts are designed to reduce costs and maximize benefits for individuals with disabilities. Life Services has engaged KeyBank N.A. to act as Co-Trustee and Custodian of the trust assets.

First Party (Self-Settled) Supplemental Needs Trust: These are funds that belong to the individual with a disability (not their relatives): upon receiving a settlement; upon receiving an inheritance (beneficiary of Life Insurance or a Will); lump sum payment from Social Security. Learn more about our First Party Trusts >

Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust: These are assets that belong to anyone but the individual person with the disability. With pre-planning, upon the death of relatives, or when assets become available over time, they can be placed into this trust for the lifetime benefit of the individual. Learn more about our Third Party Trusts >

Stand-Alone Trusts: These trusts permit individuals with disabilities to maintain their government benefits and provide supplemental extras to ensure a higher quality of life, if a pooled trust is not suitable or available for a particular individual or type of asset. Learn more about our Stand-Alone Trusts >

First Party (Self-Settled) Supplemental Needs Trust

Trust services and benefits include:

• Expedited use of existing trusts, with minimal costs and time to open and fund an account

• Excess Income Transfer (for individuals who have a Medicaid spend-down in conjunction with other Life Services programs)

• Monthly Statement of Trust Accounts provided to the Beneficiary or Designated Person

• Automatic and Unlimited Bill Payments via simple requests at: BillPay@ACTforLifeServices.org, fax, and mail

• The Life Services Investment Policy (available upon request), implemented and monitored by KeyBank N.A. and the Life Services Board

The funds within the pooled trusts are combined for investment and administration purposes only: individual accounts are created for each beneficiary; there is no sharing of funds between beneficiaries. The accounts track all activity and total account value at all times, for each beneficiary.

Third Party Supplemental Needs Trust

Trust services and benefits include:

• Expedited use of existing trusts, with minimal costs and time to open and fund an account

• Monthly Statement of Trust Accounts provided to the Beneficiary or Designated Person

• Automatic and Unlimited Bill Payments via simple requests at: BillPay@ACTforLifeServices.org, fax, and mail

• The Life Services Investment Policy (available upon request), implemented and monitored by KeyBank N.A. and the Life Services Board

The funds within the pooled trusts are combined for investment and administration purposes only: individual accounts are created for each beneficiary; there is no sharing of funds between beneficiaries. The accounts track all activity and total account value at all times, for each beneficiary.

Stand-Alone Trust

Trusts permit individuals with disabilities to maintain their government benefits and provide supplemental extras to ensure a higher quality of life. While Life Services offers Pooled Trusts, at times those trusts are not available or suitable for all individuals. Thus, Life Services has the ability to provide a trustee for Stand-Alone Trusts (both 1st and 3rd Party Trusts). This ability is by naming the Executive Director of ACT for Life Services as Trustee (or Successor-Trustee) along with the ability to select a corporate Co-Trustee.

Use of these trusts are limited and require prior approval by the Life Services Board of Directors, and are primarily used in the following situations:

• Inability to hold the assets in a Life Services Pooled Trust (including real-estate, condominiums or cooperatives).

• Inability to transfer the assets into a Life Services Pooled Trust.

• Adverse tax consequences if the assets are transferred into a Life Services Pooled Trust.

At the absolute and sole discretion of Life Services:

• A corporate co-trustee may or may not be secured.

• A bank to hold assets may or may not be secured.

• A financial manager may or may not be hired to manage assets held in the trust. 

• A accounting firm / CPA may be hired to produce all needed tax materials.

• All other services as needed, including legal services will be secured.

Download our info packets and agreements for more details: