Visible National Trust is a national pooled special needs trust. Visible safeguards and administers funds that are set aside to care for people with disabilities while ensuring lifetime access to disability benefits. Visible works directly with financial and wealth advisors to establish and administer separate trust accounts for their clients. 

If you are interested in Visible and work with an advisor, please let them know about Visible. If you’d like us to reach out to your advisor, please let us know. If you don’t have an advisor, please reach out to us so we can help you find one.

Visible National Trust is a national pooled special needs trust specifically designed to provide financial security for people with disabilities and their families.

With Visible National Trust, individuals with permanent disabilities and their families establish a separate trust account of their own that is part of the Visible National Trust. This separate trust holds money that the individual, their families, or caregivers place into it. The funds in the trust are used exclusively for the sole benefit of the disabled beneficiary, and they are administered so that they do not jeopardize current or future benefit eligibility.

Funds can be added anytime, and in any amount. To use the trust to pay for a bill or service, simply send a request into Visible National Trust. Information about the trust account is available online, including account balances, spending history, and more.

No. We believe this practice is not consistent with beneficiaries’ best interests, and as such, the Visible National Trust Master Trust does not allow this.

Visible National Trust charges a single integrated annual fee for trustee, banking, payments, and investment services. Each component of the fee is fully disclosed. There are no fees for account opening or closing, and there are no transaction fees. This annual fee is charged as a percentage of assets and is well below prevailing rates for comparable services. Tax services are optional and are provided at cost. Please contact us for a current fee schedule.

Advisors may charge fees to their clients at their discretion for their Visible National Trust services.

Yes. As long as the existing trust provides for this.

In the US, one in four people have a disability, according to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Worldwide, there are more than 1 billion people with disabilities, according to the United Nations.

The cost of living with a disability is higher than living without one, and disability benefits are available only to people who have exhausted other financial resources. As a result, it can be extremely difficult to put together a financial plan that provides funds to care of people with disabilities that simultaneously provides financial stability for caregivers and families.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) sets limits on eligibility for this type of trust. The SSA requires that beneficiaries of special needs trusts are unable to engage in “substantial gainful activity” permanently or for an extended period because of a physical or mental impairment. Current disability benefit use is not required. Trusts can be established at any age, although people 65+ need to integrate this with any current benefits to avoid the possibility of disruption.

Visible National Trust places each disabled beneficiary’s investable funds, consistent with their circumstances, in one or more Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) Portfolios. The roles of these strategically allocated portfolios include Income and Liquidity, Accumulation, Long-Term Accumulation, and a portfolio solely for additional liquidity.

Visible National Trust includes an incredibly talented team of firms and people. Collectively, the group manages trillions of dollars, is trustee and custodian to many thousands of individual and institutional trusts, and has an astonishing number of years of successful experience in financial services and working with financial advisors. Visible National Trust is a new model for delivering these important services to families caring for loved ones with a disability.

Separate trust accounts can be established by the disabled beneficiary, a parent, a grandparent, a legal guardian, a court, and depending on benefit use, another person.

Funding a separate trust account can provide tax benefits. Donations to the trust by a third-party will move donated funds from the donor’s assets to the disabled beneficiary’s trust. Separate trusts are taxable at the disabled beneficiary’s tax rate, which may be significantly lower than the donor’s.

Yes. If you’d like us to reach out to your advisor, please let us know.

If you don’t have an advisor, please reach out to us so we can help you find one.

Trust account funds can pay for goods and services for the disabled beneficiary. These can include assistive devices, education, transportation, professional fees, entertainment, services, therapies, and more. Distributions made for food and shelter may limit disability income benefits for those receiving them. The trust does not make cash distributions.

Yes! Visible National Trust is a qualified trust, meaning that disabled beneficiaries are eligible for all applicable benefits programs.

There is no limit on the amount of money that can be placed in a Visible separate trust account.

Yes!

First, we’ll have a conversation with you and your advisor to make sure Visible is a good fit for you. Then, we’ll need a completed application, called a “Joinder Agreement”. Then, we’ll set up your Visible National Trust separate trust account so it can be funded.

Once the separate trust account is opened, the donors can fund the account, and the beneficiary or their designated advocate can electronically request distributions to pay for services and items they need. Account information is available online by logging onto the Visible website; paper statements are an option as well. You’ll be able to see deposits, account balance, and payments made from the account. Advisors have access to this information as well.

There may be state-specific paperwork to complete and return to Visible. Please let us know address changes as they occur.

No. This type of trust is designed to help disabled beneficiaries and their families by ensuring that the funds are there specifically for their needs. As a result, these trusts are “irrevocable”, meaning the funds cannot be taken out of the trust and used for other purposes.

Prior to account closure, any outstanding bills and taxes will be paid. Then the separate trust account will be closed.

When funds are placed into the separate trust account by the disabled beneficiary, yes. Each state in which the disabled beneficiary received Medicaid benefits will be paid back for the benefits it provided. Once that happens, funds remaining in the trust can be distributed to remainder beneficiaries.

Yes. If Medicaid payback applies, funds will be distributed to residual beneficiaries after that happens. For third-party trusts, when the donor(s) is someone different than the disabled beneficiary, there is no Medicaid payback and all remaining funds are available to be distributed to residual beneficiaries.

Depending on circumstances, it may be beneficial to have both types of accounts.

ABLE (Achieving A Better Life Experience) accounts and special needs trusts function differently. Visible National Trust and each individual’s separate trust account are managed by an independent, professional trustee. There are no limits to the amount of money that can be placed into a separate trust account.

ABLE self-managed saving and spending accounts also provide a way to set money aside, use it for qualified disability expenses, and maintain access to benefits. Annual contributions are limited to $17,000 in 2023 and the disability must have occurred prior to attaining age 26. ABLE account balances up to $100,000 are not counted as a resource for SSI benefits. Investment gains in ABLE accounts grow on a tax-deferred basis. Visit the ABLE National Resource Center for more information.

Visible Foundation is the nonprofit trustee of Visible National Trust.

Huntington National Bank is the institutional custodian and subaccountant of the Visible National Trust funds.

Capital Motion provides professional and administrative services to Visible National Trust, including financial advisor and beneficiary support, community engagement, marketing, and technology integration.

BlackRock provides model ETF portfolios to the Trust. Beneficiary funds are invested in the ETF portfolio(s) that are best suited to maximizing the financial resources available to support each individual beneficiary over their lifetime.