CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARY
SERVICES
Trust Administration
The Trustee or Successor Trustee carries out the terms of the trust, which may involve sub-trusts and special needs trusts.
We are appointed when: 1) A person is creating their estate plan and desires a neutral professional to administer. 2) When the current trustee is overwhelmed or unable to act as trustee. 3) There is a dispute involving the trust and an impartial professional is necessary. 4) Testamentary, sub-trusts or special needs trusts are created upon death.
Trustee duties include: Funding,marshaling, safeguarding and investing the trust assets, bill paying, account reporting to the court, reporting to beneficiaries, filing income and estate tax returns for the trust and making distributions in accordance with the trust terms.
Estate Administration
The fiduciary as personal representative is an individual appointed by the probate court to administer the estate of a person who has died.
A personal representative will either act as an Executor if named in the will, or as an Administrator if not named in the will, or if there is no will.
After court appointment, we inventory and safeguard assets, collect income, verify and pay obligations, identify and notify heirs and beneficiaries, and distribute assets. As needed, we manage claims from creditors. We attend court hearings and submit a full accounting to the court and other parties, per Probate requirements. As the estate is settled/closed, we submit legal notifications to all required entities and parties.
Conservator
A Conservator is the person who is legally appointed to manage the Conservatee’s estate and/or person for an individual deemed by the court to be physically or mentally incapacitated.
A Conservator of the Estate is responsible for the prudent use and protection of the Conservatee’s assets. Upon appointment, we provide the following: inventorying, marshaling and managing all assets and benefits belonging to the Conservatee. On behalf of the Conservatee, we receive income, pay obligations of the estate, apply for pensions, and organize data for the preparation of income tax returns and other related duties.
As Conservator of the Person, we are appointed by the court to assume specific levels of responsibility regarding the health and welfare of a person.
Agent under Durable Power of Attorney
The responsibilities of a fiduciary acting as an Agent under Durable Power of Attorney are specified by our client, and can include the following duties: For health care, we act as attorney-in-fact to make health care decisions, including placement, medical treatment, and final burial arrangements. An Advance Health Care Directive provides guidance. For financial matters, we are directed to conduct personal and financial business, client-specified, to act on a broad range of authority or for very specific transactions.
Representative Payee
If the recipient of government benefits is deemed incapable or unwilling to manage their own funds, we may be appointed to receive and manage the funds for the recipients. We make sure those funds are used for the recipient’s basic living expenses, such as food, clothing, and shelter. While not responsible for all the client’s assets, we are accountable for the use and distribution of the government benefit awarded. Reporting is done on an annual basis to the agency that appointed us.