Will you serve as trustee in litigation situations?

Yes. As a service to clients and counsel, we will serve either temporarily or permanently in trusts involved in, or anticipating, litigation. For further information, click here to download our firm brochure.

Will you serve as co-trustee?

Yes. Although we must evaluate such requests on a case-by-case basis, we are willing to serve as co-trustee in appropriate cases to make professional trust management available to the trust.

Does it cost anything to name your firm as successor trustee?

No. There is no charge for designating our firm as the successor trustee of a trust. We do recommend, however, that you notify us that we have been named and provide us with a copy of the trust instrument which shall be held in strict confidence. For our nomination language, click here.

How do you charge?

Like corporate trust companies we normally charge an annual percentage of the assets under management. Where we serve as executor or administrator of a probate estate, our fees are set by the California Probate Code. In all cases, our fees are disclosed in advance and ultimately controlled by general trust law which requires that trustee fees must always be reasonable under the circumstances. For further information, click here to download our current fee schedule.

Do you have any restriction on types of assets that you will except for management?

No. We have no hard and fast rules as to what kinds of assets we will manage. We evaluate each situation on a case-by-case basis. Our goal is to solve problems for clients, families, and their trusted advisors.

What is the minimum size estate you accept for management?

Our firm does not have minimums per se. We prefer to say, “We don’t have minimums; we have relationships.” Our goal is to form long-term relationships with trusted advisors such as attorneys, CPAs, and investment advisers. In many cases, it may not be financially feasible either for the trust or for our firm to serve. Nonetheless, we try very hard to say “yes.”