u/4eyedbuzzard

Hi, my brother-in-law is 67 and on SSI. His mother died last year and in her will set up a 3rd party special needs trust for him to avoid passing money (approx. $30K) from her estate directly to him as it would put his assets over SSI limits. My wife is the trustee. She has set up accounts including a checking account in order to pay for things SS allows and has both checks and a debit card for the trust account. I have two questions:

1. He went and bought a set of tires for his car on his own credit card and now we are trying to figure out a way to reimburse him so that he can pay off amount charged for the tires and mounting he put on his credit card. We have been warned not to just write him a check (payable to him) that he would deposit in his bank/checking account to pay the CC as that could trigger SS cutting his benefits. Is this true or will SS understand that this was a reimbursement for the tires? Or can we pay his CC for the amount of the tires directly from the trust fund, either online or via hard copy check? And yes, we have receipts for everything.
2. We would like to find a way to pay for his travel and lodging so that he can attend a celebration of life service for his deceased mother this coming July. He is unable to drive the long distance (approx 400 miles) on his own. He has a friend that has offered to drive him in their car. Can we pay the travel and lodging expenses of him and his friend/"companion"? Obviously we would obtain receipts for everything.

What a mess paying for things with this trust has turned out to be . . .

Thanks in advance for any help!