Wispact Newsletter Summer 2024
Wispact Best Practices
When attorneys create Wispact trusts for their clients and clients choose Wispact pooled trust sub-account administration, they are demonstrating their trust in Wispact. Wispact’s mission is to provide professional, client-centered services and to demonstrate that we are trustworthy. As an organization serving one of the more vulnerable and marginalized populations of our community, persons with disabilities, Wispact is charged with the great responsibility to fill, with the greatest of care, a fiduciary responsibility over the special needs trusts in our care.
Here are some of the best practices that Wispact follows to ensure our client’s sub-accounts are well protected:
- The Wispact Board of Directors is a volunteer Board of governance and is independent of Wispact’s staff and vendors that provides oversight and guidance to Wispact.
- Wispact’s Board of Directors is composed of Elder Law Attorneys, Certified Special Needs Financial Planners, Care Managers, Guardians, Community Leaders, and Advocates. The Board selects and votes to install the new members.
o Annual review and signed acknowledgement of Wispact’s Conflict of Interest Policy.
o Authority over financial decisions as outlined in Wispact’s Authority Guidelines.
o Wispact Board employs a Finance Committee, which meets 6 times per year, through which all financial statements, which are prepared through the cooperative work of both our Fine Point and CLA contracted services, are reviewed and recommendations are made and presented to the Board of Directors for approval.
o Board of Directors officers include a Treasurer for oversight and reporting to the Wispact Executive Committee and Board of Directors. The board oversees Wispact’s Investment Policy (IPS), which is reviewed annually. - Financial oversight is provided through several channels, which ensure appropriate checks and balances are in place:
o Third party (CLA) accounting to review revenue and expenses and monitor how these fit within the confines of an approved operating budget.
o Third party Accounts Payable (Fine Point Consulting)
o Annual Independent Audit conducted by Wegner CPA’s – the last completed audit was for the 2023 fiscal year and no deficiencies were found and no process/policy recommendations were made.
o The Investment Managers, with True Link Financial Services, review each ‘Quarterly Investment Review (QIR)’ and ‘Market Commentary and Summary’ quarterly with the Wispact Board of Directors.
- Wispact operates under the financial accounting guidelines for non-profits. Wispact’s not for profit status is in good standing with the state of Wisconsin as evidenced by our Wisconsin Certificate of Exempt Status (CES). CES Number is 008-1026366348-05.
- Our Trustee Institution – Capital First operates as Custodian and Trustee under their financial services regulations as governed by federal and state laws applicable to fiduciary regulations. Wispact employs these custodian services through a signed service agreement with Capital First Trust Company.
- As it is not SEC certified, Wispact does not have decision-making authority, or would it choose to do so if licensed, over the investments of the trusts under management. Investment Management services are provided by True Link Financial Services through a service agreement between True Link and its Trustee, Capital First Trust Co.
- Wispact has a professional staff that is qualified to provide services to clients. Each client is assigned a Beneficiary Specialist:
o Beneficiary Specialists are available during business hours to do distribution requests or answer questions about the trust.
o Each of our Beneficiary Specialists has a degree/background in social work or related fields. They receive an update on the latest legal and regulatory requirements for pooled Special Needs Trust administration from subject-matter experts during a CLE organized by Wispact and the Wisconsin State Bar. They also receive in-house training from outside subject-matter experts.
o Wispact Beneficiary Specialists bring a responsive client-focused approach to interactions with our clients and their advocates.
- Wispact employs two Elder Law attorneys on staff. They work with attorneys regarding new trust creation and review of new trust applications. They also provide guidance and direction to our Beneficiary Specialists for complex distribution decisions. The Legal Department reviews every check and wire that arrives at Wispact to ensure the person transferring money has proper authority to do so and to ensure that third-party trusts are never contaminated with first-party funds.
- Wispact operates with full transparency to its Beneficiaries. Each Beneficiary has online access to the account of activity of his/her trust account, which shows all account activity. In addition, each Beneficiary receives a quarterly statement outlining the activity, during that quarter, within the account and investment activity and all fees.
- Wispact makes its fee schedule available to its Beneficiaries. In addition, the fee schedule is available through the Wispact website at www.wispact.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Wispact-2023-Fee-Schedule.pdf.
- The following are Wispact’s Remainder Policies:
o For third-party funded Wispact trusts, any remaining assets in the sub-account are distributed to the remainder beneficiaries listed in the Contribution Agreement after the final taxes and fees are assessed and paid. Other than the fees in the fee schedule, Wispact does not keep any part of the remaining funds from a Wispact Trust II account unless it is named as a remainder beneficiary by the Creators/Settlors.o For first-party funded Wispact trusts, if the Beneficiary received Medicaid benefits, then Wispact will notify every state from which the Beneficiary has received Medicaid benefits that the Beneficiary has passed away and request an accounting of funds spent on behalf of the Beneficiary, in accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 1396p. The total from all states’ Medicaid accountings is the “total Medicaid reimbursement amount.”
If the total Medicaid reimbursement amount is less than the value of the Beneficiary’s Trust I sub-account, then, after fully reimbursing the state Medicaid agency(ies), the remaining assets in the sub-account will be distributed to the remainder beneficiaries listed in the Contribution Agreement. However, if the total Medicaid reimbursement amount exceeds the value of the Beneficiary’s Trust I sub-account, then the remaining assets will be retained by Wispact in its charitable trust, the Wispact Retained Fund, to be used to financially assist Wispact Beneficiaries via grants.
Wispact Retained Fund cannot be used for any operating expenses and must be used for Wispact Beneficiaries. The Retained Fund forms the basis of our charitable grant program.
Wispact strives to fulfill our mission to enhance the well-being of people of all ages with disabilities across Wisconsin through the management of special needs trusts by promoting more choice and opportunities. Wispact is committed to delivering the highest quality beneficiary experience. Wispact promotes equal access to services for all persons with disabilities. We value open and inclusive discussions, and diverse perspectives from employees, clients, business partners, and others.
Movin’ Out Offers Accessible Online Homebuyer Education
In recognition of National Homeownership Month, Movin’ Out is launching a new accessible online Homebuyer Education Program.
Homeownership leads to better health, greater educational achievements, increased security and safety, and helps generate wealth building and a pathway out of poverty, according to research from HUD and other national organizations.
Homebuyer education can help you navigate the challenges of purchasing your first home. And completing homebuyer education that meets the National Industry Standards for Homeownership Education and Counseling is required to qualify for many down payment assistance programs. We are thrilled to share our new fully accessible online homebuyer education course that meets these standards.
Movin’ Out Homebuyer Education is designed to meet the needs of low-income first time homebuyers in Wisconsin who are people with disabilities. The Program is affordably priced at just $60, plus you can choose to purchase one unit at a time, which breaks the low cost into four even easier-to-afford payments of $15 each.
The course design is based on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) so the content is accessible to people with disabilities including blindness and low vision, deafness and hearing loss, cognitive disabilities, photosensitivity, and combinations of these. For example, participants can choose to learn from audiovisual and/or text-based content. All documents are designed for use with screen readers, and all audiovisual materials include closed captions. In addition, our course can be completed on a phone, tablet, or computer.
Wispact attends Outreach Events
Wispact attends several outreach events each year – upcoming events at which Wispact will be exhibiting are Disability Pride Festival 2024 in Madison, WI on July 27; the Children Come First Conference in the Wisconsin Dells on October 7-8; and the Self-Determination Conference in the Wisconsin Dells, October 21-23.
MISSION STATEMENT »
“We enhance the well-being of people of all ages with disabilities across Wisconsin through the management of special needs trusts by promoting more choice and opportunities.”
About the Email Newsletter
Beneficiaries and Advisors – Wispact has switched to an email format for newsletters. If you would like someone to receive this (beneficiary or advisor), please reply to James Giese, Director of Communications, jgiese@wispact.org or call 608-268-6006 ext 209. To unsubscribe, click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email or reply to this message with your unsubscribe request.
If you have questions about your trust account, please contact your Beneficiary Specialist.
Wispact, Inc.
226 Corporate Drive
Madison, WI 53714
(608) 268-6006 | F (608) 252-8449
For a staff listing: https://www.wispact.org/staff/
Wispact, Inc. is not a registered investment adviser, registered stock broker or broker-dealer and does not offer investment advisory services, programs or products. Any investment questions should be directed to qualified licensed professional financial advisers.