Social Security is now processing some retirement spouse claims for same sex couples and paying benefits where they are due. See: http://ssa.gov/pressoffice/pr/doma-statement-pr.html and http://ssa-custhelp.ssa.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/2488/related/1.
I serve the counties of Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo, Yuba, El Dorado, Nevada, and even Humboldt.
Tags: El Dorado, fiduciary, Humboldt, Nevada, placer, retirement, sacramento, social security, spouse, sutter, Yolo, yuba
I was reading Ashlea Ebeling, a Forbes staff writer, the other day by way of a suggestion from Elise Baker, an attorney in Rocklin Ca., on the topic of Payable On Death (POD) accounts.
POD accounts are set up so that when the owner dies the funds automatically go to the beneficiary (hence; Payable on death). The beneficiary is not able to access the funds while the owner is alive (with or without capacity) and it avoids probate. They can be a great estate planning tool but…
Like everything, this tool needs to be carefully used. Ashlea shared a couple of scenarios where it was the wrong tools are not used correctly. If you have a question about this please contact your estate planning attorney, they may help make settling your estate go smoother…which is what I do on your behalf.
I serve Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, Yuba, Sutter, El Dorado, Solano and even Humboldt counties and your first consultation is free.
Tags: El Dorado, estate planning, fiduciary, Humboldt, placer county, sacramento county, Solano, sutter, yolo county, yuba
According to Wikipedia, “A fiduciary is a legal or ethical relationship of trust between two or more parties. Typically, a fiduciary prudently takes care of money for another person. One party, for example a corporate trust company or the trust department of a bank, acts in a fiduciary capacity to the other one, who for example has funds entrusted to it for investment. In a fiduciary relationship, one person, in a position of vulnerability, justifiably vests confidence, good faith, reliance and trust in another whose aid, advice or protection is sought in some matter. In such a relation good conscience requires the fiduciary to act at all times for the sole benefit and interest of the one who trusts.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiduciary, July 12, 2013
Again, according to the Professional Fiduciary Association of California (PFAC), “A fiduciary as trustee has the responsibility of carrying out the terms of a testamentary or living trust. The trustee is usually a person named by the creator of the trust, but in some cases, the trustees cannot carry out his or her duties because of incapacity or death. If there is no successor trustee who can serve, the court has the responsibility of appointing a trustee, usually someone nominated by the trust beneficiary who then safeguards the assets and invests them according to the Uniform Prudent Investor’s Act (as set forth in the Probate Code). Professional trustees working under the UPIA are held to a higher standard than others. The fiduciary as conservator is the person who is legally appointed to manage the conservatee’s estate and/or person. A conservatorship is a legal tool designed to provide management for the financial and/or personal affairs of individuals deemed by the court to be physically or mentally incapacitated, often because of dementia.” http://www.pfac-pro.org/ohana/website/index.cfm?p=118001 July12, 2013
In order to be a member of PFAC, professionals must be licensed, agree to adhere to the code of ethics, and demonstrate a commitment to their own professional skills by completing continuing education units annually.
Licensing is processed and monitored through the Department of Consumer Affairs; Professional Fiduciary Bureau (http://www.fiduciary.ca.gov/). My number is #387.
Trustees manage money, and oftentimes, difficult people and situations. When money is involved, beneficiaries and trustees sometimes have disagreements, and family arguments can be among the most rancorous. There are plenty of traditional families, blended families, dysfunctional families that are faced with an abundance of problems and issues when a parent dies or becomes incapacitated and there is money in an estate to be protected and invested. Sometimes non-professional trustees mismanage or neglect their trustee duties, and sometimes he or she may ignore the directions of the trust. Beneficiaries get angry, get an attorney and go to the probate court for resolution. That resolution often names a private professional fiduciary as the new trustee. Many attorneys, accountants and estate planners, who know good private professional fiduciaries, sometimes suggest a professional be named as trustee when a new trust is written.
I currently serve clients in the counties of Placer, Sacramento, Yolo, Yuba, El Dorado, Solano and Humboldt. Depending on the situation, I can serve clients in other counties as well.
Please call 916-220-3474 for your first hour free consultation.
Tags: california, definition, El Dorado, fiduciary, Humboldt, placer, sacramento, sacramento county, Solano, trust, wikipedia, Yolo, yuba
Alzheimer’s is a subject Laura Wayman knows well. I have had the pleasure of sitting in her seminars and learning about dementia. As California Licensed Professional Fiduciary, I come in contact with clients who are in various stages of dementia and Laura’s classes and book have helped me identify what might be dementia so I can get help for them. I am not an expert just because I have listened to her and read her book (A Loving Approach to Dementia Care) but I have come away with tools that help me in communicating with my clients and it’s those tools that have made my life less stressful and allow me a richer relationship with my clients.
Here a couple of quotes from her work:
“When someone is acting in ways that don’t make sense, we tend to want to carefully explain the situation from our “normal perspective”, calling on his or her sense of appropriateness to achieve more “normal behavior” and compliance. However, dementia-challenged adults are no longer able to access the “boss function” in their brain any longer, so they cannot respond as they did before dementia to discussions, arguments, or customary communication approaches,
no matter how much our reasoning seems like straightforward common sense to us. This simple motto applies well to communication with a person with any form of dementia; “Only tell them what they can handle, and as the dementia progresses, they can handle less and less.”
https://www.dementiawhisperers.com/
sited June 23, 2011
“…do not argue with a confused person. Arguing may only escalate and fan the fires of anger, anxiety, paranoia, and fear. If you cannot win the battle, change the war No matter how outlandish the claim or accusation, listen and proceed as though you believe everything the person with dementia is saying. Plan to take action that will give the person with dementia is saying. Plan to take action that will give the person a sense of relief To her, the most frustrating response is for you to argue or try to convince her that the satiation is not real.
Imagine what it would be like if you thought you were being followed home by a strange car one evening, thought you had been receiving odd or threatening phone calls, or thought you saw someone hiding outside your bedroom window. Now imagine that you shared your fears with your family and friends, and that even though you were genuinely scared, they calmly dismissed your anxiety as foolishness. How would this make you feel?”
A Loving Approach to Dementia Care, Making Meaningful connections with the Person Who Has Alzheimer’s Disease or Other Dementia or Memory Loss – Laura Wayman, The John Hopkins University Press, 2011 Pg. 54
Link: https://www.dementiawhisperers.com/
Tags: alzheimer's, dementia, dementia whisperers, demntia care, fiduciary, Laura Wayman, memory loss
A special needs trust is set up for one of two reasons:
1. Court ordered on behalf of a person so someone independent can manage funds either up to a certain age or permanently.
2. Guardians, i.e. parents of a special needs person, sets it up so the special needs person can receive public benefits and still have other expenses cared for. Someone else manages the cash to pay for other expenses not covered by public benefits. Public benefits covers food and shelter and the trust can pay for clothing, furniture, car, gasoline, insurance, etc.
If there is a pool of money, the fiduciary must invest it wisely to get a return for the client according to the Uniform Prudent Investors Act in the California Probate Code. Other income must also be managed appropriately.
Tags: california, court ordered, fiduciary, guardians, special needs, special needs person, special needs trust
There are various types of living trusts, including revocable and irrevocable.
Revocable
The Trustor is alive but has resigned as Trustee for a variety of reasons. A fiduciary is asked to be Successor Trustee. This Trust is revocable and the Trustor is still alive and has capacity, the ability to make decisions. Though the Trustor may not make financial decisions, he or she may still make medical decisions. The fiduciary handles financial aspects such as figuring out bills, income, and managing the finances. The fiduciary may be removed at any time from this position by the Trustor.
The fiduciary can manage a wide variety of things including overseeing property and investments. Much like a CEO oversees a company, the fiduciary oversees things and may hire a property management company to handle overseeing the property. The fiduciary also looks for investors that match the goals he’s trying to reach with the Trustor’s investments.
On the medical side, if the Trustor loses capacity and the fiduciary was appointed with Health Powers of Attorney, the fiduciary works with nurses and medical professionals to develop a care plan for the client. Over time the plan may change as the Trustor’s health changes. That may change the financial plan as well if additional funds are needed to cover medical costs.
Irrevocable
There are several types of Irrevocable Trusts. The trust is generally frozen and no changes can be made unless ordered by the court. The Trustee acts according to the terms of the Trust and California Probate Code.
The fiduciary is a professional designed to have time to care for all these needs. He or she is dedicated wholeheartedly to taking care of people and their estates. Family members can rest easier knowing these needs are being taken care of without their having to take time off from work and it taking a toll on their busy lives and schedule to care for all of this and any expenses incurred.
Tags: fiduciary, irrevocable, irrevocable trust, living trust, power of attorney, revocable, revocable trust, successor trustee, trustor
Sue’s comments: I’ve known Michael for several years now and have always found him to be an ethical person to work with and a fun person to be around. I got Michael on the telephone and asked him to tell me a little bit about working with his clients. What you find below is what I wrote based on that conversation.
There are many reasons a person may choose a fiduciary to handle their estate and financial matters. There can be issues, both real and perceived, in having a family member or friend handle these matters but appointing a fiduciary like Michael alleviates any appearance of a family member or friend taking advantage. Michael helps you maintain those friendships and family relations so there are no feelings of mistrust or misuse of funds.
A client may have financial issues such as outstanding debts to deal with. Michael can help that client put their life back together by putting together a plan to deal with those debts as well as a plan to work together on a regular basis to manage the bills.
Michael’s goal is to keep a person as independent as possible for as long as possible. He can help promote peace and avoid the wars so often heard of in families when it comes to money matters. There’s no need for ‘sides’ or ‘war’ to gain control when a third party handles those matters.
Let Michael remove your additional burden in your time of grief. He keeps everyone informed and helps alleviate misunderstandings and mistrust. He removes causes of dissension. He engenders trust, answers your questions, handles the matters you don’t have time for or aren’t in a position to handle because you are out-of-state.
Benefits of Working with Storz Fiduciary:
Tags: benefits, burden, fiduciary, independent, michael storz, storz, storz fiduciary, trust
