Gotta be made by the old sick person in this case, because it’s their assets that will ultimately go into the special needs trust. That’s how we maintain the protection of the assets, the one receiving the benefit has no say over the trust’s terms.

If the old sick person isn’t able to travel to work with an attorney, much can be done over the phone or email. If they signed a power of attorney, one of the powers given to their agent may have been the power to do this legal work for them as well. It’s worth asking the attorney about for sure.