Newsletter
April 2026
Happy April! Spring is here and with it comes the opportunity to enjoy nature’s beauty outside and a time of renewal.
I recently attended a conference for attorneys where many of the attendees were not aware that CCT offers a Settlement Preservation Pooled Trust (SPPT), otherwise known as a HEMS Trust, designed to provide for the beneficiary's health, education, maintenance, and support. This type of trust serves minors who do not have a disability, as well as vulnerable adults. We go into more detail in the following article that demonstrates how our SPPT can meet the needs of your clients who need trust administration services but do not meet the criteria of CCT’s First-Party Pooled Special Needs Trust for individuals with a disability.
In my 26 years at CCT, I have frequently heard, “I was told that CCT will buy me a car,” or other similar comments regarding how trust funds can be used. While we certainly do approve the purchase of cars, we have a responsibility to disburse funds prudently that is described in this month's FAQ, describing how to set realistic expectations with clients about CCT's role as trust administrator and the disbursement request process?
Jessica Morris shares true stories that radiate with compassion and provide a realistic view of the challenges faced by many of our beneficiaries and their advocates.
We hope that you enjoy the pictures of our beneficiaries that we have started sharing in each Newsletter. These photos are of beneficiaries who have volunteered and granted written permission to share them. We have found that each beneficiary and their advocate experience a sense of pride in being included along with joy when they see their photographs.
Pictured in this photo is CCT Beneficiary Damian.
With gratitude for the opportunity to serve our clients and the trust you have in us,
Joanne Marcus, MSW
President & CEO
Our staff are available to answer questions and provide support.
Settlement Preservation Pooled Trust for
Minors and Vulnerable Adults
For more than 30 years, CCT has built a trusted reputation for administering pooled special needs trusts with precision, compliance, and deep legal and social work expertise. That commitment remains the foundation of our work. We have expanded that legacy by providing a solution designed to meet a broader range of needs.
The Settlement Preservation Pooled Trust (SPPT), often referred to as a Health, Education, Maintenance and Support (HEMS) Trust, provides trust administration services for minors who are vulnerable because of their age, and adults who are vulnerable but do not have a disability. Both the minor and the adult who are receiving a settlement can benefit from professional trust administration services. For professionals navigating complex cases, this option reflects what we have consistently heard from attorneys: clients often require a structured, reliable way to safeguard funds, even when traditional special needs planning does not apply.
Pictured in this photo is CCT Beneficiary Deborah, at a commencement ceremony.
This trust provides attorneys with a practical, court-friendly solution for protecting settlement proceeds, particularly in matters involving minors or vulnerable adults. By placing funds under professional management, this approach supports better outcomes for clients, promotes clarity for the court, and streamlines administration for all involved. Attorneys can move forward with confidence knowing that, even after their involvement concludes, their client’s funds remain protected and properly overseen.
Lastly, the flexibility exists so that if a beneficiary later requires special needs planning, funds can be transitioned seamlessly into CCT’s pooled special needs trust, ensuring continuity of trust administration. This built-in adaptability allows CCT the opportunity to respond to changing circumstances without disruption. This minimizes administrative burdens while continuing to safeguard the beneficiary’s financial well-being.
The Settlement Preservation Pooled Trust is an extension of CCT’s commitment to caring trust administration. It reflects CCT’s ongoing dedication to support Beneficiaries with reliable guidance at every step of the way. CCT aims to provide peace of mind to attorneys, beneficiaries and families, ensuring that funds are protected, properly administered, and aligned with each beneficiary’s individual and evolving circumstances.
Pictured in the photo is CCT Beneficiary Diego, on spring break.
Our Client Services Staff Who Sets Us Apart
Written by
Jessica Morris, LCSW
Client Services Manager
Often disabled individuals need additional supports to ensure the necessary level of safe care. At CCT, our team works to help the family (or advocate) apply funds toward improving the beneficiary’s quality of life, including assisting with securing the best possible care. These supports may be in varied forms, including paying for facilities or private caregivers or, in some cases, purchasing adaptive equipment for a beneficiary who lives at home.
A relevant example involves a 55-year-old beneficiary, “S.M.”, with Down’s Syndrome. He is non-verbal and has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He lives with his sister, who became his primary caretaker when she felt her brother was receiving inadequate care at a former residential placement. To ensure safe access, CCT’s team supported using S.M.’s trust to make the bathroom in his home handicap accessible. Prior to this renovation, two people were needed to get S.M. into the shower, which was traumatic for him. Rolling his wheelchair directly reduced his anxiety as well as risk of injury to those who were required to physically assist him. Further supports provided to increase S.M.’s safe access to the home included purchasing a platform and wheelchair lift for the entrance. These were positive, life-changing uses of his trust.
CCT’s review processes are significant. Part of our role is to make sure expenditures from a trust account are prudent. In appropriate circumstances, and after team review, use of a trust can reinforce a beneficiary’s safety and allow them to enjoy a quality of life, freer from unnecessary stress for both the person and their home caregivers.
Pictured in this photo are CCT employees during our April staff gathering.
FAQ
Question: How do I set realistic expectations with my clients about CCT's role as trust administrator and the disbursement request process?
Answer: When advising clients on trust planning, it’s critical to avoid overpromising what a trust can accomplish. While special needs trusts are powerful planning tools, their effectiveness, especially in preserving public means tested benefits such as Medicaid and SSI for your clients, depends on a variety of federal and state-level factors.
While CCT is person-centered, we have a responsibility to handle requests for disbursements as a fiduciary and to carefully consider all of the variables that go in to our decision making process, for example: not jeopardizing Medicaid and SSI, whether the request is for the sole benefit of the beneficiary, whether the request is prudent, and more.
We have had new clients say, for example, “my attorney said you would buy me a house.” While CCT certainly may approve the purchase of a home, it is a process that takes careful consideration of a host of variables.
Setting realistic expectations of our role as trust administrator and clearly explaining potential limitations not only protects your client; it also protects your practice.
Conferences & Presentations
April
April 8, 2026 | Interactive Legal – Webinar – Virtual Presentation by M. Benjamin Tiefenback, Esq. – Managing Disbursement Challenges in Trust Administration: Fiduciary Responsibilities, and Legal Considerations
April 15, 2026 | Salt Lake Estate Planning Council – April Luncheon - Presentation by M. Benjamin Tiefenback, Esq. – Using Pooled Trusts as a Safety Net When Drafting Estate Plans
April 23 - 26, 2026 | Society of Women Trial Lawyers – Annual Meeting
April 28 - May 1, 2026 | Academy of Special Needs Planners ASNP – National Conference
Pictured at the Special Needs Alliance Spring Meeting are CCT's Business Development Manager, Liz Reid, with (from Left to Right), Richard A. Courtney, CELA, CAP, Founding Partner of Courtney Elder Law Associates PLLC; B. Bailey Liipfert, III, CELA, Partner and Shareholder at Allman Spry Law Firm; and Cora A. Alsante, Esq., Partner at Hancock Estabrook, LLP.
May
May 14, 2026 | Virginia Law Foundation - Webinar – Presentation by M. Benjamin Tiefenback, Esq. – Managing Disbursement Challenges in Trust Administration: Fiduciary Responsibilities, and Legal Considerations
May 20, 2026 | Golightly Law – Presentation by Kaylan Hood – Pooled Special Needs Trusts
May 28 - 31, 2026 | National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys – Annual Conference
(Click the Image to Watch the Video)
Our staff are available to answer questions and provide support.
