A Private Fiduciary Can Save the Day

There are many instances in which a family cannot agree on who should be appointed to act as the executor for an estate, or who should be a guardian or conservator. Perhaps the adult children cannot agree on which of them is more appropriate. Or perhaps the family lives out of state, and does not have the time to devote to all the responsibilities entailed by such a duty.

In this situation , a private fiduciary company can save the day. A private fiduciary is a person (or company) that is licensed by the Arizona Supreme Court and regulated by strict guidelines. Beware, however, because some private fiduciaries are more interested in turning a quick buck than in doing a good job. I won't name names of bad ones. However, I will say that two good, reputable companies that I know of are Next Steps for Families, LLC and Managed Protective Services, Inc.

The one trade-off is that a private fiduciary will charge for their services. However, this is still worth it for many families. If the family would otherwise be fighting in court or spending money on plane tickets to fly back and forth to Arizona, then they are still probably saving money. And, with a good private fiduciary, you can be assured that the job will get done.