Our Services

Trust and Estate Administration Assistance

Trust & Estate Administration Assistance

As a trustee or executor, you assume the highest responsibility to apply the trust document and law of trust administration to support the beneficiaries. Santa Barbara Fiduciary provides Trust & Estate Administration Assistance to family members and other individuals serving as fiduciaries to assist with implementation, administration and management of a wide variety of trust structures and the duties and responsibilities that come with them. We provide a personalized approach tailored specifically to those people involved with each trust.

Our personalized approach is led by our professional values:

  • Pursuit of excellence & well-calculated risks.
  • Honoring relationships & spiritual as well as the legal & the financial legacy.
  • Collaboration & simplicity.
ABOUT TRUST & ADMINISTRATION

It's a lot of work.

The roles of successor trustee and executor involve considerable time expended in preparation of financial analyses and spreadsheets; shepherding of assets; searching for and tracking down lost information; tax reporting; traveling to financial, debt related, creditor and other business entities for research; evaluating, repairing and making decisions concerning real and personal property; determining status and then preparing an accounting to beneficiaries to provide status of the trust estate – this takes time and acumen that the successor agent might not have, or not have realized.

It takes objectivity.

When family members are appointed to bear the burden, subjective interpersonal relationships may get in the way of decision making that requires clear thinking and objectivity.  Often the unresolved familial emotional issues (“Mom always loved you best”) and lingering grief issues may create dynamics that interfere a successor’s ability to complete proper, timely and necessary trust management.  In addition, it can subject the fiduciary to liability. Using Santa Barbara Fiduciary as a independent, objective consultant, especially when it comes to making discretionary decisions about how and when beneficiaries receive trust assets, ensuring that tax and legal obligations are met and to ensure that the specifications spelled out in the trust are followed benefits everyone.  

Deadlines and Rules

There are deadlines to be met and rules to follow. Getting up to speed can be daunting when dealing with the added responsibilities of serving as successor trustee, on top of already established (and often busy) life commitments.

Proximity

Many times the designees are not proximately located near the assets.This increases the difficulty of managing/maintaining them, dealing with agents and handling other trustee and executor responsibilities.
HOW WE HELP
Initial & General Administrative Steps
  • Meetings and/or communications with Client & Client’s advisors.
  • Obtain, review, and document pertinent information re estate planning documents.
  • Obtain, review, and document pertinent information re income tax returns, including personal income tax filings and fiduciary income tax filings (as needed)
  • Obtain, review, and document pertinent information re, including but not limited to, financial, insurance, property, and tax statements.
  • Financial Reporting: Monthly and annual reporting of standard balance sheet and profit & loss statement(s), from the accounting system; data & record management re same.
  • Record keeping & hard copy file management: historical records as needed & maintenance of current/on-going records.
Inventorying, Valuing, and Managing Trust Assets
  • Inventory, value and manage financial accounts. 
  • Evaluate/assist with consolidation of financial accounts.
  • Evaluate/assist with establishing efficient systems for daily money management. 
  • Establish & maintain custom accounting via QuickBooks.
  • Evaluate/assist in evaluation of real property interests.
  • Provide real property guidance/support/recommendations as applicable.
Inventorying, Valuing, and Managing Non-Trust Assets
  • Facilitate/assist with evaluation of annuities & life insurance policies (as applicable).
  • Facilitate/assist with the evaluation all other assets.
  • Report on non-trust assets to Client and Client advisors for direction/implementation on action/non-action to be taken.
Determining and Managing Liabilities
  • Determine Nature and Extent of Liabilities, Claims, and Debts, as applicable. To include insurance policies review & real property considerations.
Taxes
  • Provide data, information, and records to CPA, as needed and for annual filing requirements.
  • Assist with preparation of income tax payments (annual & estimates), as needed.

We Wanted Access To Better Trust & Estate Administration Assistance Services, So We Created It

Our dream was, and still is, centered around creating and delivering tools, systems, education, and coaching to individual fiduciaries – such as family members, friends, loved ones or professionals – who shouldn’t have to reinvent that wheel.

Our website highlights some of the tools and services that make Santa Barbara Fiduciary so valuable to our Clients. We know that individuals will always have many other duties and concerns to attend to and that trust and estate administration can too often become a full time job. We’re here to help.

Problems We Solve

Alleviate Burdens

Manage Expectations

Avoid or reduce conflict of interest

Manage Liability

Avoid or resolve intra-family conflict

The Value of Our Services

We know that serving as a trustee, caring for loved ones and managing personal affairs can be impossibly overwhelming. With the Santa Barbara Fiduciary in your corner, you’ll never have to go it alone.

Experience, expertise, and objectivity

Understand the mechanics of trust administration

Provide prudent and transparent trust administration

Efficient navigation through required processes

Remain in control with peace of mind and get back the one you thing you can't get more of, time

Imagine having an expert to available whenever you need help or advice.

Get the support of Santa Barbara Fiduciary, a professional fiduciary who’s completely dedicated to serving you.

Get Trust & Estate Administration Assistance Now