A focused fiduciary practice for families and the professionals who advise them. The work below is what I do; everything else, I either decline or refer.
I serve as successor trustee on revocable living trusts after the settlors' death or incapacity, and on irrevocable trusts where a neutral, professional trustee is required by the trust instrument or the family situation. Work includes inventory and valuation of trust assets, beneficiary communication, distributions, ongoing recordkeeping, formal trust accountings to the standards of the California Probate Code, and coordination with the trust's existing attorneys, CPAs, and financial advisors.
For trusts with real property, ongoing investment management, or complex family dynamics, the trustee role requires both administrative discipline and the willingness to make decisions and document them. I do that work.
I serve as agent under a durable power of attorney for finances — paying bills, managing accounts, overseeing investments held with the client's existing advisors, coordinating with care providers, and maintaining the documentation that protects both the principal and the agent. The arrangement works particularly well when an aging client wants to keep their existing financial advisor in place but needs someone to handle the administration the advisor can't.
Conservatorship is the formal, court-supervised version of the work above. Conservator of the estate handles the conservatee's finances; conservator of the person handles personal and health-related decisions; some matters require both. The role comes with court accountings, regular reviews, bonding, and a higher level of formal documentation. I am NCG-credentialed (National Certified Guardian, Center for Guardianship Certification) and accept conservator appointments in Napa, Sonoma, and Solano Counties.
California Probate Code requires periodic and final accountings in many fiduciary contexts. I prepare these accountings to the format and detail courts and beneficiaries expect — receipts, disbursements, asset schedules, distributions, and the supporting documentation. The same discipline applies to recordkeeping inside the practice, so that whoever inherits the file next — a successor trustee, a beneficiary's attorney, the court — can pick it up and understand it.
The estate-plan team that served the client well in life is usually the team that should serve the trust well after. I coordinate with the existing attorneys on legal questions, with the CPAs on Form 1041 and trust tax matters, and with the financial advisors on investment decisions — without trying to do their work or move the relationship away from them. For families with longstanding professional relationships, that continuity is part of what they are paying for.
Real property held in trust requires its own discipline — vendor selection, inspections, insurance, tax payments, repair coordination, and (when the time comes) sale or transfer. I oversee these transactions on behalf of the trust, working with realtors, escrow officers, and the trust's other professionals. When a Real Estate Administration Fee is appropriate in lieu of hourly billing, the structure is disclosed in advance and consistent with industry practice.
I do not give legal advice (that is your attorney), I do not prepare tax returns (that is your CPA), and I do not manage investment portfolios (that is your financial advisor). My role is to coordinate among them, hold the fiduciary responsibility, and make sure the administrative work gets done well.
I also do not take on every matter. Where a situation is outside my practice or another professional is a better fit, I will say so and, where I can, point you toward the right person.
The right starting point is usually a conversation. Tell me what is going on; I will tell you honestly whether the work above matches.
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