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Mutual Respect
Working with Outside Advisors

A new client was referred to us several years ago by an estate planning attorney, who decided that his client could use help with his financial planning. The first thing that struck us as unusual about this situation was that this client had been a successful financial advisor, many years before, but—on the advice of his attorney—chose to use our financial planning and investment management services. We were pleased to help.

After several years passed, the client developed an increasingly severe case of dementia and was unable to look after his own affairs. We talked with the attorney, and—with his permission—recommended to the family that the attorney be formally appointed as our joint client’s independent trustee. (He was already serving that role informally, and it made sense to acknowledge that formally.) The family agreed, and the attorney assumed the role of trustee, while we continued to manage our joint client’s money.

Since that time, we’ve had quarterly meetings with the attorney-trustee and the family, making sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of the financial planning and investment strategy. We’ve developed an effective working relationship with the trustee, to the extent that he now brings us questions that the family has posed to him.

For example, the trustee asked us to explore whether the client’s wife should buy long-term-care insurance for herself. (By this point, her husband was too ill to obtain such protection for himself.) We performed the necessary cash-flow projections, and strongly recommended that she buy the insurance. We then consulted with the trustee attorney and recommended another outside professional—in this case, an insurance specialist—to tailor a long-term-care policy appropriate to her specific needs. Again, the trustee was closely involved in all these discussions and endorsed our recommendations.

At Fiduciary, we understand the value of long-standing relationships. We therefore take care to work closely with the outside advisors who refer their clients to us, and to draw upon their expertise. We value the opportunity to be part of the team.

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