Ok, I know they don’t use the simple 1through 10 score cards in the Olympics anymore, but it’s so much easier than the current system to convey a really great performance. What fun to watch the women’s USA gymnastics team do so well together and individually. Or, to watch the tenacious women’s USA beach volleyball team of Walsh & May-Treanor. Two mommies who would eat sand to secure a win. The joy of playing a sport often calls athletes to a higher level because they enjoy the practice!
Professional fiduciaries don’t have anything like Olympic events. We take on cases where there is no suitable family or friends or when someone plans a large gift to a charitable cause. Often the situations presented provide the barest details. We must weigh the risks and choose whether to take the plunge. Sometimes these situations include those like one a professional fiduciary described recently - if there was a Fiduciary Olympics, this would rate in the highest difficulty.
Fiduciary Olympics - Highest Difficulty Rating
The public guardian needed a professional fiduciary to step in when an elderly woman’s drug addicted son was accused of elder financial abuse and her bi-polar daughter lived far away. The professional fiduciary agreed to step in so the woman could be moved to an assisted living facility; the son moved out; and, the home cleaned and sold to care for the woman. The fiduciary described entering the home with goggles, breathing mask, gloves and removable booties to avoid infection from rat feces and old food found in the place.
The elderly woman needed help that neither the state nor her children could give her. Not all of our cases are so difficult, but when we are presented with a situation, it is our duty to ourselves and to the people we serve to determine if we can "go the distance". Do we have the same perseverance that the Olympic athletes have? Do we have adequate training, appropriate experience and the intestinal fortitude to do the work? Do fiduciaries receive extensive training, preparation and refining like athletes who train for a "Big Event".
Athletes don’t just learn about their game: they practice; they do warm-up drills; they watch other great athletes; they learn from each other; they have coaches that encourage or guide them; and they practice a lot.
Fiduciary Training
The State of California requires individuals seeking a license as a Professional Fiduciary to have a certain level of education and experience. The course of required education covers the laws, ethics, practical considerations, reporting & accounting requirements; and, asset management among many other topics. The purpose of these courses is to promote the level of knowledge required to evaluate and handle the many possible situations that arise when serving as a fiduciary.
In addition, professional fiduciaries are required to have a certain number of hours of continuing education each and every year. There are few better ways to receive this education than by joining the Professional Fiduciaries Association of California and attending the annual and regional education offered by this organization. This is much more education than a family member, friend or even a non-licensed CPA will have about closing out an estate. It’s probably more education than most people would ever dream is required by the situations we encounter.
Still, it seems like we can always use more training and preparation. Like the warm-up drills or the team practices of athletes, we can seek ways to regularly sharpen our skills. A professional fiduciary is brought in to evaluate, make decisions and take action. To do this we must exercise good judgement, informed by experts in their field of practice. We bring together many different professionals to get a job done right.
Since our "stock & trade" is making good decisions about difficult situations and properly communicating with the parties involved, it is helpful to regularly "try on" how we would handle a sticky situation before we are faced with the choice. This can be gleaned from informal conversations with professionals, such as attorneys or other experienced fiduciaries. While helpful, this method is a little bit like sitting in the passenger seat on the way to a destination, then being asked to drive back on the way home. Our attention is so much more acute when we are in the driver’s seat, isn’t it?
Warm-Up Drills
Another way to sharpen our decision-making abilities is to use quick mental warm-ups to stimulate our thinking. The ACE Fiduciary Group posts an occasional poll question to fiduciaries and other professionals engaged in this work. The poll question is like some of the on-line games that offer "increased mental acuity". The questions are designed to be simple, but the answers are rarely simplistic. We do this to sharpen our thinking about areas we commonly encounter but which have no obvious correct answer.
You can participate by clicking here. The current poll will close on August 16, 2012, although this link will always bring you to our current poll topic. If you are interested in the results and some feedback about this topic, sign-up for our emails as we will post the results to those who receive our occasional, informative email blasts.
Remember, fiduciaries cannot and do not give legal advice. We are doers rather than advisors.
No comments:
Post a Comment