Where Passion Meets Purpose
The Directed Benefits Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that advises and administers disability trusts.
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About Directed Benefits
Directed Benefits Foundation is a Florida-based non-profit organization comprised of industry professionals with decades of experience. Our team of seasoned professionals provides support and guidance to disabled individuals and their families who face adversity and financial challenges throughout the United States. We are fully equipped to tend to your trust-related needs, ranging from simple to highly complex cases. With the help of our experts, creating and administering your trust can be a straightforward process.
Whether you are an individual, a family, an attorney, or advisor, Directed Benefits Foundation is ready to alleviate the complexities of setting up and administering your trust. We can assist in determining which trust best suits your needs and offer personalized support to help meet your planning objects for the present and into the future.
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What We Do
Our Services
We work with families and individuals to help them reach their planning goals at every stage of their lives. Using our unique model, we bring stability, calm and reason to the chaos surrounding large settlements. Our platform enables us to offer our trustee services impartially, focusing on attaining the trust's objectives. We provide comprehensive, personalized support to help you meet your planning objectives today and into the future.
Donor - Advised Fund
A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is an account where you can deposit assets for donation to charity over time. Think of it as a charitable investment account for the sole purpose of supporting philanthropic causes you care about.
When you contribute cash, securities or other assets to a donor-advised fund at a public non-profit, you are generally eligible to take an immediate tax deduction. Then those funds can be invested for tax-free growth, and you can recommend grants to virtually any IRS-qualified public charity.
You want your charitable donations to be as effective as possible when you give. The Directed Benefits Foundation can show you how. Donor-advised funds are the fastest-growing charitable giving vehicle in the United States because they are one of the easiest and most tax-advantageous ways to give to charity.
Donor - Advised FundSpecial Needs Trust
A special needs trust (SNT) is a settlement planning tool specially designed to hold assets on behalf of a disabled individual in a manner that will benefit the person while preserving their eligibility for state or other government benefits. A SNT allows an individual to receive benefits like Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid, while continuing to have a source of funds to pay for goods and services not covered by government programs, like specialty equipment (vans with lifts, walk-in tubs), and certain medical procedures.
Did you know that a person with a disability may be rendered ineligible for public benefits if they receive a lawsuit settlement or accumulates too much money in their account? Any amount over $2,000 in assets can negatively affect benefit eligibility. We can help you understand your options and how individual special needs trusts work so you can make an informed decision on this crucial matter. The knowledgeable, responsive, and empathetic team at Directed Benefits Foundation proudly serves beneficiaries, their representatives, and their families throughout the United States.
Special Needs Trust
Pooled Special Needs Trust
At Directed Benefits Foundation our primary goal is to help our beneficiaries achieve the highest quality of life possible. Unlike a special needs trust, a pooled special needs trust has no age restriction, which means it may be established by individuals over the age of 65. Unlike a special needs trust, a pooled trust may be created by an individual who is also the intended beneficiary. A pooled special needs trust must be administered by a non-profit, such as The Directed Benefits Foundation, whose team has decades of experience with these types of trusts.
A pooled special needs trust offers a way for persons with disabilities, their families, and their representatives to preserve income and assets without jeopardizing public benefits. A person with a disability may be entitled to Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid, but if they receive an inheritance, lawsuit settlement or have other assets, they may be rendered ineligible. A Special Needs Pooled Trust can preserve the income and assets of a person with a disability and can offer family members a way to leave inheritances or offer support in addition to government benefits.
Pooled Special Needs Trust
Settlement Preservation Trust
Trusts come in many forms and serve many purposes, including avoiding probate, protecting assets from creditors, and offering tax benefits. A settlement preservation trust (SPT) protects a beneficiary’s interests first and foremost, by preserving settlement proceeds and are often used for personal injury victims or children born with special needs.
Different than special needs trusts (SNTs) and Pooled Trusts (PTs), SPTs are not specifically described or authorized in Federal law. They are not used to protect public benefits like Social Security Income or Medicaid nor are they required to comply with a set of rigid Federal requirements.
Without the hard-line Federal mandates of SSI and Medicaid, SPTs hold significant protection and management potential. SPTs can provide protection against exploitation and spendthrift tendencies while providing flexibility and liquidity at the same time. Being controlled primarily by State law allows for a high degree of customization, and SPTs can meet a wide range of needs and circumstances.
Sound complicated? Whether you are an individual, a family, an attorney, or an advisor, Directed Benefits Foundation is ready to alleviate the burden of setting up and administering your trust.
Settlement Preservation Trust
Why Choose Us
Benefits of Working With Us
Financial management is complex for any person, but it presents specific challenges for persons with disabilities and their families or representatives. Government benefits are available, but how can you protect your assets without jeopardizing your eligibility? Directed Benefits Foundation can help you with every aspect of planning for a pooled or individual special needs trust. Our consulting services are based on the key principles of transparency, service, and support.
Quick Response
Our goal is to make sure that our beneficiaries have access to funds that they need, when they need them, with as little difficulty as possible.
Transparency
In today’s world, trust is of paramount importance. We strive to provide full transparency in every aspect of our trust administration, including, monthly statements, and detailed accounting whenever needed.
Service
We genuinely understand the challenges often faced by the disability community. We are passionate about what we do, and we are here to support and guide you. Our service is efficient and professional without sacrificing empathy.
Experience
Directed Benefits Foundation understands the complex rules surrounding government assistance, eligibility requirements, and other challenging financial topics so you don’t have to.
Independent Financial Management
We retain independent, registered financial advisors, money managers, and custodians, who all serve at the discretion of the Trustee in an arm’s-length relationship.
Who We Work With
Our Clients
As your consultant, we work for your client’s best interests.
The Injured, Disabled, and Their Families
DBF will collaborate with you, to create needs-based financial planning goals for every stage of your life. Our objective is to remove any fear you may have of losing control of your trust assets while bringing calm and reason to the chaotic nature surrounding any large settlement. Our platform allows us to offer our consulting services in an impartial manner, with a focus on meeting the objectives outlined within your trust agreement.
Attorneys
We have your client’s best interest at heart. We are prepared to operate as a conservator if it helps to expedite the case settlement. In addition, we do not default to a restrictive special needs trust and public benefits unless it is warranted. Through our affiliated resources, we assist in:
1) Assessing the appropriateness of the offer to the plaintiff, 2) Understanding its impact on the client’s financial plan; and 3) Ensuring settlement offers are appropriately explained to your client and documented.
We take a consultative approach at Directed Benefits Foundation; we do not offer legal advice. We leverage various trust attorneys in drafting client trust documents. We also offer feedback on trust documents for a variety of situations. In addition, we regularly refer trust clients to attorneys with whom we have relationships.
Financial Advisors
The Directed Benefits Foundation offers your clients access to trust experts who provide an unmatched level of trust service efficiently and professionally. We avoid conflict with your respective services, as we do not seek to interfere with your client relationship and your existing support model. Instead, our independent role as a managed trust solution creates a complementary support relationship for your client, as well as an expanded level of account retention and customer loyalty for you.