Setting up a non-profit trust company: The special needs trust company in Singapore

• Main Author: TANG, Hang Wu
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2014
• Subjects: elder law; persons with special needs; mental capacity; financial abuse; equity; Asian Studies; Elder Law; Organizations Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/2324; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/4276/viewcontent/Setting_up_a_NON_profit_3Sep2014_av.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Persons with special needs are in an extremely vulnerable position where they are potentially subject to financial abuse by criminals or other untrustworthy people. In Singapore, this concern has led to the setting up of a non-profit company called the Special Needs Trust Company (SNTC). This article traces the formation of SNTC, the infrastructure and legal documentation required for setting up such a non-profit company and how the special needs trust is currently used in Singapore. The Singapore experience may provide a useful starting point to policy makers and non-governmental organisations from other jurisdictions which may be looking into the difficult issue of managing the property of persons with special needs.