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Trusts
Overview: October 1, 2012
Effective: October 01, 2012
Clients who have the persons with disabilities (PWD) designation and applicants for the PWD designation may have extra costs directly related to or as a result of their disability. Some of these costs might include changes to their home to accommodate their disability, mobility aids, or money for home support workers. Trusts provide a way for PWD clients and their families to safeguard assets for meeting disability-related costs now and in the future while remaining eligible for disability assistance.
BC Employment and Assistance (BCEA) legislation provides that a person receiving disability assistance, or a person receiving accommodation or care in a private hospital or a special care facility, other than a drug or alcohol treatment centre, can have assets held in a trust, under certain conditions, without those assets affecting eligibility for assistance. In certain narrow circumstances, income assistance clients who do not reside in a private hospital or a special care facility may have assets held in trust for them without affecting their eligibility.
A committeeship is an arrangement where the Public Guardian and Trustee, a private individual, or a trust company is granted the authority to manage the affairs of an adult who is incapable of managing his or her own affairs. The person managing a patient’s affairs is called a committee. Under BCEA legislation, a patient’s own real and personal property, which is controlled by a committee, is treated by the ministry as if held in trust for the adult.
Due to the complexity of trust law, before an eligibility decision is made, a legal opinion must be sought by the Ministry of Social Development through the ministry’s Legislation, Litigation and Appeals Branch (LLAB). The Ministry of Social Development also obtains a legal opinion in the case of a committeeship, including those involving the Public Guardian and Trustee. LLAB staff work with lawyers from the Legal Services Branch of the Ministry of Justice to review the trust information and determine whether the trust is valid, whether the trust is to be considered an asset, and if it is exempt.
