Ethics for Trustees

Excerpt from the first chapter of "Ethics for Trustees", A Guide to All Who Serve as Trustee, by Jane B. Lorenz, CPA, CLPF and Marguerite C. Lorenz, CTFA, CLPF

This book is intended as a guideline for everyone who serves as a Trustee of
a Trust; Experienced or inexperienced; Att orneys, Fiduciaries, CPA’s, Family
Members and Friends, etc. Quotes and concepts have been drawn from personal
experience, from the Professional Fiduciary Associati on of California (PFAC) Code
of Ethics and from the most recent California Probate Code (2011).

"Typically, the work of Trust Administration takes many more
hours and is considerably more stressful than the Trustor, Family
member or Friend realized. Stressed Family and Friends are doubly
challenged to keep to their ethical compass, if they are expected
to do this work without pay. Resentments often build and create
additional tension, when no compensation for this work was
considered or drafted into the estate plan.
As you accept the role of Trustee, how you will be compensated is
an important discussion to have with the Trustor. We acknowledge
this information may be obvious to professionals, but needs to be
highlighted and discussed for the benefit of our amateur readers
who wish to “do the job right”. Whether or not you are paid, it
is appropriate to track your time, document your activities and
accurately track every transaction. You will make better decisions
as the Trustee, if you are alsomanaging your time and energy to
get the job done.
A Trust involves the administration of assets on behalf of
another: an institution or one or more individuals, living or dead.
A Trustee can appointed to manage assets during the lifetime of
the original settlor; this private arrangement allows for distribution
of wealth even if the client becomes incapacitated or unable to act
personally. Upon death of the settlor or trustor, the trust controls
how and when assets are used and distributed; this is not the
same as an appointment of a legal guardian or conservator (also
Fiduciary capacities) to handle assets inherited by young children
or others unable to act on their own behalf, although a trust can
be set up to benefit those same individuals under a guardianship
or conservatorship. We intend to focus on the ethical issues
experienced by trustees of trusts, not on those issues managed by
conservators or guardians, although there is a natural overlap."

Review by an experienced Trusts and Estates Attorney:

“Ethics for Trustees” is an excellent guidebook that draws together important resources and reference materials. It covers some topics few other writers have addressed, and the authors draw on wealth of personal experience. The writing is clear and concise. It is a valuable addition to my professional library.

Meredith G. Alcock
Trusts and estates attorney
www.aalapc.com

Review by an Independent Financial Advisor:

Whether you are already serving as a professional trustee or considering taking on this role for the first time, we recommend this book. Serving as a trustee is a challenging responsibility. This book will help you understand what is expected of you and how to best meet the role of trustee.

Troy B. Daum, CFP®
Principal
Wealth Analytics
www.WealthAnalytics.com


The Authors:
Jane B. Lorenz, CPA, CLPF has been practicing as a CPA since 1975 and started serving as a Professional Trustee around 1990.
Marguerite C. Lorenz, CTFA, CLPF began working with Jane in 2003 and has been serving as a Professional Trustee ever since.
This book is a labor of love. They know from experience the challenges facing today’s Fiduciary, whether amateur or professional. Many professional Fiduciaries operate as sole proprietors, without partners or staff . Jane and Marguerite have benefitted so much from their partnership and business model, they feel good about sharing some of what they have learned.

The Readers:
Everyone who is in the Estate Planning Process can benefit from a better understanding of what their Successor can and should do. The documents alone do nothing. The selection of the appropriate Successor Trustee is vitally important, as this is the one trusted to fulfill the Estate Plan provisions.

How can the right Successor be selected if the one choosing is not familiar with what the job entails? Reading this concise volume gives the reader just what is needed. Before one accepts the role of Trustee he/she should understand the liability, the ethical issues and the depth of responsibility. We believethat reading this book may prevent family upset and financial disaster.