Becoming a Fiduciary for Clients

[Anonymous]

I would love to know more from others about their process, education, insurance, credentials, licensing requirements, other things to consider, etc. about becoming a Fiduciary for clients.

Any information from those of you have decided to add that service to your business offering would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Alix

p.s. In my conference evaluation I did add that a session (or an AADMM online webinar) going into more detail about the role, responsibility and requirements of fiduciary’s would be something I would be interested in…perhaps other members would be too?

[Anonymous]

The biggest factors are the added costs in terms of insurance and perhaps licensing, depending on where you are located and the added liability. My insurance costs almost quadrupled when I added fiduciary insurance, but I more than make that up in the added income. I might not be willing to add the expense if I was only going to do it for one client unless it was a really big client, like a large trust.

You will want to know the laws of your state…what you can and can’t do, what you can and can’t charge for. For example, in FL, you can’t charge to be a POA unless you are an attorney, CPA or trust company basically. In CA, you need to be a licensed fiduciary. In FL, there is no such thing. In FL, we don’t have springing POAs, so once those documents are signed, you can act.

Make sure you understand the documents and what your responsibilities would be in those roles. Decide what roles you are willing to take on. I will act as a POA, Trustee and Personal Rep on an estate but I won’t do health care POA and I don’t do court appointed work.

There are likely bar courses you can take in your state that will provide education on these roles and responsibilities. Read the statutes for your state and if you don’t understand them, talk to an attorney to have them explained. Understand that your level of responsibility increases significantly because you are the one who is making the financial decisions and you need to make sure you that you keep notes about why you did certain things if there might ever be a question. You will also likely want to charge more for acting in these roles as the level of liability is much higher.

Having said all of that, I enjoy fiduciary work and acting as a POA, even though I can’t charge extra for it, makes getting things done for my clients much easier as I don’t have to go through them. I am empowered to act and companies are able to discuss issues with me.

Hope that helps.

[Anonymous]

As Caitlin mentioned it varies from state to state. A good place to start is the National Guardianship Association https://www.guardianship.org/. The association has a great deal of information, classes, and books.

In my state of CA, CA requires that we are licensed and one of the many requirements is to take an exam offered by the association. I started offering DMM and trust accounting services to earn money while I am in the process of becoming a licensed fiduciary. It has been very expensive to get the license, and I am hoping it pays off in the future.

-Cameron Hernandez

[Anonymous]

I also forgot to include the link in case anyone is interested in the test. It is offered by Center for Guardianship Certification https://guardianshipcert.org/about-us/

-Cameron

[Author]

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