how many trust funds are actually out there? trying to figure out if theres one for my old shop

Yeah there's a bunch of them out there. When I got diagnosed they told me about the asbestos trust funds but I didn't really know where to start either. Turned out my exposure on the Oriskany came from multiple sources, not just one company.

What helped was going through a VA benefits coordinator who actually knew this stuff. They had lists of which companies filed for bankruptcy and set up trusts based on what kind of work you did. For shipyard and naval work it was different than what you're dealing with on the civilian side but same concept.

Your brake pad dust exposure is probably tied to a few different manufacturers depending on what shops you worked at. The insulation from the 80s, that could be several companies too. The trick is you don't need to know the exact brand necessarily. When you file a claim with a trust they ask detailed questions about your work history and timeline, and their records usually match it up to what products were actually being used in your area during that period. We talked to someone in September 2025 who had kept old pay stubs and invoices from his shop, that stuff actually helped them narrow down which companies.

The lawyer should be able to handle tracking down multiple trusts for you. That's what they do. If they're not explaining it clearly, that's on them to step up. You shouldn't have to be the one hunting down trust fund paperwork.

Yeah man, this is the stuff nobody explains real good and it drove me crazy too. So from what I've learned, there's a bunch of these trusts out there - we're talking dozens and dozens because like you said, all these companies went belly up and had to set em up. There's not really one master list that I found anyway, it's more like you gotta piece it together.

For my brake pad exposure, I had to figure out which brands I actually worked with back in the 70s-90s. Some of the big ones were there but honestly my memory's fuzzy on exact names after 30 years. Turns out my old shop had records though, which was huge. I'd check if your old employer kept anything around, even if it's just old invoices or supply lists. That can help nail down which companies.

The insulation thing is trickier cause you probably don't know the brand, but your home renovation might have records from whoever did the work. We found our basement stuff was tied to a specific manufacturer just cause my wife kept the old receipts in a filing cabinet somewhere.

When we finally worked with someone who actually knew this stuff, they helped identify like 4 different trusts I was eligible for. One from the brake pad company, a couple from insulation manufacturers, and one other I can't even remember now. It wasn't just one and done.

My advice is don't try to figure it all out yourself. Get someone who specializes in this to do a real review of your exposures, your work history, where you lived, all of it. That's how you find the trusts you actually qualify for instead of guessing.

Yeah man, this is the stuff that drove me crazy too. So from what we went through, there's definitely more than one trust out there. Like a lot more. I think my lawyer said there were like over a hundred at this point but honestly the number keeps changing.

Here's what helped us. We had to basically go back through old paystubs, W2s, anything that showed where I worked and what I was around. For me it was pretty clear I was at that one shop the whole time, but the brake pad dust exposure... turns out there were multiple companies supplying pads back then. My lawyer had me make a timeline of every place I worked and what materials I remember touching. That's how they figured out which trusts to file with.

The insulation thing in your basement is tricky because yeah you probably don't remember the brand. We did home stuff in our house too (this was 1978 when we ripped out the old pipe wrap) and honestly I couldn't tell you what company made it. But my guy said they can sometimes work backwards from the year and what was commonly used in that area of Michigan. Might be worth digging up old receipts from that renovation if you kept any.

One thing nobody told us either is that you gotta file with each trust separate. It's not like one application covers everything. We ended up filing with three different ones and got responses back at different times. First one took about 4 months, second one was like 7 months. So don't get discouraged if you're waiting.

Your lawyer should have a list or access to a database of active trusts. If they're not being real specific about how many apply to you, that might be worth pushing back on. We switched to a different firm the second time around and night and day difference in how they explained stuff.

This is actually something we've been working through with my dad's case and it's more complicated than most lawyers make it sound. There are dozens of trusts out there, yeah. Like literally dozens. The companies that manufactured asbestos products filed for bankruptcy and set up these trusts as part of the settlement, so you've got separate trusts for different manufacturers.

The thing is, there's no single master list that's easy to find. We ended up working with a trust claims specialist who basically went through my dad's entire work history and matched it up with what he might have been exposed to. Turns out he had exposure from multiple sources over his career, so we filed claims with like five different trusts. It took forever and a lot of back and forth but the documentation is everything. We had to track down old pay stubs, W2s, anything that showed where he worked and when.

For your situation with the brake pad stuff, yeah there were definitely manufacturers in that space. The insulation is trickier because you need to know the brand or at least the company that installed it. We spent an afternoon going through my dad's old boxes of receipts from 1978 through the early 2000s. Some of the paperwork was just gone but even the stuff we found helped narrow things down.

My advice is get a copy of your full work history written out with dates and company names and what you were doing, then find someone who specializes in these claims. Not all lawyers know all the trusts equally well. We switched lawyers halfway through and the second one caught exposures the first one missed. The claims process itself is usually free for you once you file, the lawyer takes it out of the settlement.

honestly the lawyer thing is so frustrating because they make it sound simple when it's really not, and then you're stuck doing detective work on your own. i'd definitely push them to give you actual names of which trusts they're filing with instead of just saying "trust funds" like that explains anything.

Got a lawyer who actually knew what he was doing and that made all the difference. We went through my service record from the Oriskany and matched it up with what was being used on the ship during those years. Turns out there were three separate trusts I ended up filing with, not just one. The thing is you gotta have documentation or at least a solid timeline. I kept my old paystubs and medical records from the VA and that helped narrow down exactly what I was exposed to and when. For your brake pad work in Detroit, a good mesothelioma attorney will know which companies were operating in that area during 1970 to 2000 and can cross reference that with the trusts. Don't just assume it's one or two. I'd say get someone who specializes in this stuff to do the legwork because trying to hunt down all the trusts yourself will eat up your time and you might miss one.