PLAN of Arizona

PLAN serves as the professional trustee for sub-accounts inside its master pooled trust, authorized under 42 U.S.C. §1396p(d)(4)(C). Each beneficiary has their own sub-account that tracks deposits, growth, and distributions, even though investments are pooled across all members for efficiency. PLAN handles trust accounting, distribution decisions, and SSI/ALTCS reporting, so families do not have to recruit and supervise an individual trustee.

PLAN typically offers two structures:

• Third-party sub-account funded by parents, grandparents, or a family trust. No Medicaid payback applies, and any remainder can pass to other family members or charity.
• First-party (d)(4)(C) sub-account funded with the beneficiary's own assets, such as a personal injury settlement or direct inheritance. At the beneficiary's death, the remainder either stays with PLAN to help other disabled members or repays state Medicaid programs.

PLAN also provides optional care-coordination services, such as visits, advocacy, and benefits monitoring, which families can layer on top of the trustee role.

PLAN is a strong fit when:

• The expected trust balance is under roughly $100,000 to $150,000, where stand-alone trustee fees would consume too much of the trust each year.
• The family cannot identify a relative or friend who can serve as trustee for the rest of the beneficiary's life.
• The beneficiary needs in-state advocacy as well as money management.

For larger estates with a willing family trustee, a stand-alone third-party SNT inside the parents' living trust often gives more flexibility. Many Arizona families use PLAN for first-party assets and a stand-alone trust for the third-party gift, combining the strengths of both approaches.

Trustee tip: the SNT distribution cheatsheet shows, expense by expense, whether to pay from the SNT, the ABLE account, or not at all, and how each choice affects SSI. The interactive SNT Distribution Checker lets trustees log a planned expense and see the SSI verdict in real time.