Are You a Fiduciary? Probate Attorney Offers Helpful Tips in Video Interview
Attorney Charles Triay
He explained that for the fiduciary entrusted to do the accounting for the deceased’s estate or trust, there are many details they need to report.
He recently spoke with AskTheLawyers.com™ via web interview on some of the aspects of fiduciary work with respect to trust and probate law. He explained that for the fiduciary entrusted to do the accounting for the deceased’s estate or trust, there are many details they need to report.
“They have to report on all the assets they collect, all the income that comes in, all the bills that are paid, all the fees that are paid, all the taxes and everything,” he said. “It’s quite a detailed accounting.”
He said that a family member is typically chosen to be a fiduciary, and if not, the court may assign someone else. This person must perform the accounting for a trust at least once a year. Triay stressed that it’s important to understand how big a job it is and just how much accountability a fiduciary will be responsible for. A fiduciary might hire a firm to do the accounting to minimize the possibility that there will be lawsuits or issues, and sometimes lawyers will have to go to court just to force a fiduciary to do the job.
He said that if there is a dispute about the accounting or other matter involving the trust or estate, seek help right away.
“Get an attorney, get an accountant, because people fumble around and they waste a lot of time and a lot of money before they get things on the right track,” Triay said. He also stressed the importance of hiring an attorney with experience in probate litigation.
“I see a lot of attorneys who think that probate is easy, and they find out that it’s a very unique area with lots of rules and lots of time limits, and they have a hard time,” he said. “I highly recommend contacting an experienced probate attorney who is familiar with this area of law.”
Charles Triay is a probate litigation attorney based in the San Francisco Bay area. He can be reached at 888-594-9733.
Kimberly Busch
AskTheLawyers.com™, LLC
970-239-1453
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WATCH NOW: Probate Attorney: Avoid These Common Fiduciary Mistakes at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYo6-ZWLNKo&t=3s
1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYo6-ZWLNKo&t=3s
2 https://www.askthelawyers.com/listing/california-1/oakland/probate-litigation-attorney/charles-triay/