PFAC NEWS
a f f i l i a t e
o f
t h e
n a t i o n a l
professional fiduciary association of california g u a r d i a n s h i p
a s s o c i a t i o n
volume 10, issue 1 — spring 2010
Make Plans NOW for 2010
15th Annual PFAC Educational Conference
May 5-7, 2010
Hilton Resort & Spa, San Diego, CA
Online Registration Now Open!
See details on page 9
In This Market Don’t Trust One Of Your
Client’s Largest Assets To Just Anyone...
Now More Than Ever, Experience Counts!
Andrew de Vries, MBA - Probate Realtor:
Sells More Probate, Estate &
Trust Properties for More Money
in a Shorter Time.
Is a Seven Year PFAC Supporter
Who Understands the Needs of
Fiduciaries & Their Clients.
Is an Expert at Sales & Court
Procedures in San Francisco,
Alameda, Contra Costa, San
Mateo & Santa Clara Counties.
Call Today
for a Free
Consultation
Provides a Dedicated Team of
Professionals to Help with Estate
Liquidation, Cleaning, Hauling and
Pre-Sale Repairs.
Tel: 415-664-9175 x.277
www.probateagent.com
Table of Contents
PFAC Board of Directors 2009-2010
President
Stella Shvil, CCF, RG
858-794-0394
[email protected]
Vice President/
President Elect
Norine Boehmer
310-246-9055
[email protected]
Secretary
Linda Banta
(415) 459-3486
[email protected]
Treasurer
Gary Loebner
(650) 961-3368
[email protected]
Past President
Sharon Toth CCF, RG
510-352-6000
[email protected]
Southern Region President
Richard Norene
(310) 222-1044
[email protected]
Executive Director’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
President’s Message. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Southern Region Director
Lee Ann Hitchman, MBA,
CLPF, NCG
714-276-2112
[email protected]
PFAC Region Updates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Becoming a Professional Fiduciary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Northern Region President
Scott S.H. Phipps
510-508-9588
[email protected]
PFB Advisory Committee Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Make Plans NOW for 2010 Conference. . . . . . . . . . . 9
Northern Region Director
Patricia McVey-Ritsick
925-627-1593
[email protected]
New Members. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Region and Chapter Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
San Diego Region President
Beverly Brito
760-480-8941w
[email protected]
Calendar of Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Executive Director’s Report
San Diego Region Director
Monika Pelletier, NCG, CLPF
858-335-4920
[email protected]
T
he PFAC administrative office continues to be a busy one, responding
to calls daily from members of the public,
licensed fiduciaries and those interested
in pursuing a fiduciary career. The number of latter calls continues to grow, and
it is exciting to know that the profession
is one that is on a growth trajectory.
PFAC Staff
One Capitol Mall
Suite 320
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: 916.669.5330
Toll-Free: 866.886.7322
Fax: 916.444.7462
Web: pfac-pro.org
Email: [email protected]
Executive Director
Jackie Miller
[email protected]
Accounting Services
Connie Payne
[email protected]
Membership Services
Erica Guerin
[email protected]
Communications Director
Melissa Hensley
[email protected]
As you know, in late January, the
PFAC Board of Directors and several
Jackie Miller
Past Presidents participated in a strategic planning meeting, with AMG Senior
Account Executive Cheryl Oliver serving as facilitator. This was a
highly successful endeavor, and participants have received the material that was developed during that process. It was enlightening to
see that the majority of items on the previous strategic plan had been
completed, and the current plan will give us goals for the next oneto-five-year period.
Erica Guerin continues to receive membership applications on
a regular basis, as the Membership Committee can attest! She also
is processing member dues and the information members provide
with their renewals. As of March 4, 2010, the membership stands
at 385, with several applications pending before the Membership
Committee. report continued on page 11
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
3
President’s Message
T
his year has gone by quite quickly and
I am proud of all the accomplishments
of this board and our members. As I have
indicated in the past, our state board of volunteers have provided countless hours working toward the improvement of our organization. In January, the board had a one-day
strategic planning session to review PFAC’s
present and future goals. The last strategic
planning session was ten years ago. As you
can imagine this planning session was definitely due.
We invited a few past presidents for informational history purposes and continuity.
The session was extremely successful. Ideas
and thoughts from all present were flowing.
We started by reviewing all of our accomplishments over the last ten years. Several
of you will remember that the organization
was run strictly by volunteers with one hired
secretary to assist in the day- to- day activities for the entire organization. How many
countless hours were spent by so many of you
in coordinating a conference or disseminating information to the membership? Today
we have a professional association manager
with staff, a legislative advocate and conference coordinator. We have definitely come a
long way.
You might be asking yourselves, what
was accomplished at this strategic planning
session? It began with a reflection of PFAC’s
accomplishments, then moved on to a review
of our mission statement. After much discussion, we recommended that our mission
statement be updated in order to be more
precise and concise. We are also in the planning stages of implementing a PFAC “brand
Stella Shvil, JD, CLPF, NCG, PFAC President
Continued on next page
PFAC Region Updates
SGV (San Gabriel Valley) Chapter
Annabelle Wilson, Chapter Representative
Southern Region PFAC
Richard Norene, President
We had our first organizational chapter meeting in June 2009.
Subsequently a suitable meeting place was located, the Embassy
Suites in Arcadia. Those who attended our first two meetings seem
to like this location.
Greetings from the rain soaked Southern California Region.
Our third educational luncheon was on January 22 at the City Club
in Orange. It was well attended with over 40 members. The educational portion featured attorney Marlene Seltzer, a specialist in estate
planning with the Law Offices of Alice A. Salvo in Woodland Hills.
She did an excellent job explaining the value of developing the most
appropriate type of living trust based on different circumstances.
She spoke at length about how a living trust avoids the high cost
of probate, and assures that the right people receive assets upon the
person’s death. In summary, she explained that a living trust saves
time, money, and gives control and privacy to the heirs by avoiding
the long expensive probate process. The group was also interested in
learning more about a special needs trust since so many of us serve as
conservators and fiduciaries of individuals with special needs. I want
to express my gratitude to Emily Stuhlbarg, Past Southern Region
President of PFAC, for her chairing this third gathering, and calling
the meeting to order in my absence.
Our fist regular meeting was held on October 14, 2009. The
presentation was, “Why Care/Case Management?” by Dr. Vida Negrete, gerontologist. Her talk was interactive with lively contributions from experienced conservators. In spite of a glitch in mailing of
notices, the meeting was fairly well attended. The attendance grew
for our second meeting, December 9, 1009. The subject was “Avoiding Liability While Acting as Trustee” by Alexandra L. Bannon, Esq.
She included case studies, references, guidance for case acceptance
and standards of care. Incidentally, this was the last meeting attended by our dear colleague, Shirley Trissler.
Our next meeting was held on March 10, 2010. Phillip Barbaro,
Esq. spoke on the topic “Five Major Real Property Issues”, which
included short sales, tenant evictions, etc. We look forward to presenting additional compelling fiduciary subjects at our meetings this
year and thereafter.
During the January meeting, our members also had the benefit
of hearing from Stella Shvil, PFAC’s President. She shared the plans
for establishing the Shirley Trissler Memorial Fund to honor Shirley’s memory and unique dedication to mentoring and welcoming
new fiduciaries to our field. Stella indicated that the establishment
of the fund was endorsed by PFAC’s Board, but the management
Region Updates continued on page 8
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
4
identity” which will be achieved through
specific logo, colors, fonts and graphic elements. Establishing PFAC’s brand identity
will be accomplished with the collaboration
of Scott Phipps, website chairperson, public
relations committee, public relations consultant and web-site company, with these efforts being monitored by our management
association. Branding will give a consistency
to the look of our website, newsletter and any
other PFAC literature, which will strengthen
our image in the public eye. Much thought
and preparation is taking place as we work
toward this goal.
Pat McVey-Ritsick and her educational
committee continue to work hard on creating additional educational opportunities for
our members that will be offered through the
regions along with our conferences. Thom
Thale and his legislative committee along
with our legislative advocate, Sandy Carey,
continue to fine-tune legislative issues and
promote the awareness of PFAC with our
local legislators and the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau. Gary Loebner and his bylaws
committee continue to review any bylaw and
policy and procedures issues that arise. Bev
Brito, Patty Fister and their committee are
hard at work in bringing another successful
education conference to us. The conference
will be held in beautiful San Diego at the
Hilton Resort and Spa, May 5-7. We will
be celebrating our 15th anniversary. This is
something to truly be proud of!
In January I had an opportunity to travel to the Southern regional meeting. I met
some wonderful people who had some good
ideas and comments to share. It was great to
meet new members as well as seasoned members. I am truly proud of the accomplishments of the board and the individual members who provide their time to their region
or to the state. As I have mentioned before,
the greatest asset PFAC has is its members.
Those of you who have helped in the past, I
thank you for your efforts. To those of you
who have not provided time, we welcome
your ideas and thoughts. Please join us as we
continue to improve this wonderful organization. We always welcome fresh ideas and
enthusiasm.
I wish each of you continued success
in your chosen profession and always welcome constructive comments from any of
the members by e-mail or phone at stella@
shvilfiduciary.com or (858) 794-0394. See
you at the conference in San Diego. ■
As an endorsed insurance provider for the Professional Fiduciary Association of California,
Dominion Insurance Services assists PFAC members in securing the quality insurance
coverage they require.
The PFAC-approved professional liability insurance program is underwritten through
Lloyd’s of London and is available for PFAC members only. The
Lloyd’s policy is specifically designed for professional fiduciaries
and is available at an affordable rate.
For further information, go to PFAC’s website, www.pfac-pro.org,
and click on the Dominion logo.
Toll Free: (888) 313-9977 Phone: (925) 313-9977 Fax: (925) 313-9978
Email: [email protected]
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
5
Shirley Ann Trissler
January 30, 1943 ~ December 28, 2009
PFAC President 2004 - 2005
PFAC past president Shirley Trissler passed away on December 28, 2009, in Pasadena, California, surrounded by her loving family.
During her career as a professional fiduciary, she was appointed as Administrator, Executor, Trustee, and Conservator in hundreds of
cases. She was known for her honesty, integrity, diplomacy and skill in managing the personal and financial needs of others. She served
as a role model for those in the profession and worked diligently with legislators to set licensure standards.
Shirley was active in civic and professional organizations. She served as Treasurer and Board Member of the Glendale College
Foundation. In addition to serving as PFAC President, she held several offices at the regional level.
She received awards for her outstanding service, both from the College Foundation and PFAC.
On Saturday, February 20th over 125 friends, colleagues, and family gathered to celebrate her life at the Women’s City Club of
Pasadena. A video tribute to her depicted her life from growing up in Forest, Ohio to her work as a conservator and cherished partner,
sister, aunt, and friend. Guests spent an hour sharing their favorite memories of Shirley, from professional situations to fun times
they experienced together.
She was remembered as a woman of integrity, high energy, wit, and a truly dear friend to all those who knew and loved her. Shirley
is survived by her life partner, Kathryn Black, her sister Sandy Roberson, niece Jamie Valocchi, nephew Steve Jaszay, and great-nieces,
Tasha, Andi, Sydney, Cierra, and Jordan.
A Shirly Trissler Scholarship Fund has been established in her honor.
Please see page 7 for additional details.
“Trust your instincts, but document every reason why...”
~ Shirley Trissler
Becoming a Professional Fiduciary from a
Practicing Attorney’s Perspective
Jack Anderson, Esq., APLC
I
am an attorney – specifically a 20+ year
Civil Litigator who has recently completed the certificate programs to practice as a
professional fiduciary. Some people ask me
why I would ever want to do that, while others compliment me on a smart career move
in this current socioeconomic environment.
My main motivation was to find an area
where I could apply my legal skills, experience and background in a more hands-on,
giving-back fashion as I gradually work my
way toward semi-retirement.
The question I am asked most often
is whether an attorney “really needs” the
extra credentials offered by the certificate
programs in order to practice as a fiduciary.
Obviously on a legal level the answer is no,
since Business & Professions Code §6530 (b)
exempts licensed attorneys from the licensing requirements to practice as a professional
fiduciary. But I think from a practical and
realistic perspective, the answer is different.
An attorney needs to appreciate the different
way that a professional fiduciary must relate
to his or her client.
I perceive a basic difference between the
nature of an attorney/client, versus a fiduciary/client relationship. The difference can be
understood through one basic concept: the
degree of humanism involved. An attorney
protects a client’s financial, commercial and
legal well-being. A fiduciary works toward
those ends as well, but also toward another
end, i.e., the personal, emotional, and physi-
cal well-being of a client. The fiduciary must
therefore incorporate a degree of humanism
into his or her practice. This is not necessarily required of attorneys.
We attorneys know, or should know, a
body of rules and guidelines that we are required to follow strictly called the California
Rules of Professional Conduct. We are tested
on these rules before we can be admitted to
the bar, and ‘refresher’ courses are required
as part of our continuing education. These
rules rather strictly govern an attorney’s professional integrity, the relationship among
attorneys, and the professional and financial
relationships that attorneys have with their
clients. These Rules also pose restrictions
upon advocacy and representation.
Professional fiduciaries, of course, must
also follow the Professional Fiduciary Code
of Ethics established under Business & Professions Code § 6520. But if you compare
the attorneys’ Rules of Professional Conduct
with the fiduciaries’ Professional Fiduciary
Code of Ethics, you will quickly see a difference. Although fiduciaries must also protect
client confidence, avoid conflicts and self-interest, and protect assets, they are mandated
under this code to guard and preserve the
physical, emotional and personal well-being
of their clients. That mandate isn’t in the
Rules of Professional Conduct.
To me this additional emphasis on
humanism shows why the additional train-
ing garnered from the certificate programs,
PFAC seminars, and other resources are
valuable for attorneys who want to practice
as professional fiduciaries. These programs
and resources offer the practitioner a wealth
of nitty-gritty, practical information, guidance and tips that practicing fiduciaries
have gathered for years while working ‘in
the trenches.’ These resources acquaint a
potential fiduciary with the humanistic side
of the profession, to perhaps the greatest degree possible without actual client contact.
And even the legal material in the programs
is worthwhile as continuing education. You
can obtain an entire period’s worth of attorney MCLE credits from just two of the
courses in the certificate program.
The bottom line is that I am really glad
that I took and completed the trustee and
conservator certificate programs. I would
recommend the same to any other attorney
who wants to branch out into fiduciary practice. And don’t overlook the myriad resources offered by PFAC as well.
Next: Wearing Both Hats on the Slippery Slope: Two Ethical Pitfalls for Attorney/Fiduciaries.
Jack Anderson is a lawyer in solo practice
in San Diego and the Kern River Valley, Kern
County. Besides offering professional fiduciary
services, he practices Probate and Trust Litigation, Elder Law Litigation, Probate, Estate
Planning, and Trust Administration. ■
Shirley Trissler Scholarship Fund
Shirley had a great passion for mentoring new fiduciaries. A scholarship fund has been established in her honor, in
order to continue her passion in assisting new PFAC fiduciaries.
Please send your donations to:
Shirley Trissler Scholarship Fund, c/o NBM, Inc.
1494 S. Robertson Blvd., #200
Los Angeles CA 90035
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
7
PFB Advisory Committee Meeting Report
Stella Shvil, J.D., CLPF, NCG, PFAC President
I
n late January, I had the privilege of attending a meeting of the Professional
Fiduciaries Bureau (PFB) Advisory Committee. Also participating from PFAC were
Executive Director Jackie Miller and Legislative Advocate Sandra Carey. Advisory
Committee members participating were
PFAC members Lisa Berg and Dan Stubbs,
as well as Clark Parker, a newly-appointed
member, and Sharon O’Neill of the Santa
Clara County Superior Court. In addition
to Bureau Chief Rick Wallinder, those in
attendance included PFB analyst Angela
Bigelow, several executives from the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) and G.V.
Ayers, a consultant to the Senate Business,
Professions and Economic Development
Committee.
We had been invited to participate by
Mr. Wallinder, who wanted to hear our input regarding the Bureau and discuss concerns surrounding the continued viability of
the Bureau.
Mr. Wallinder outlined the following
issues:
• Too few licensed PPFs to cover budgeted costs of running the Bureau
• No significant indication of an increase
in licensing to cover costs
• Only one staff person assigned to the
Bureau; in most of the DCA boards,
core functions (e.g., licensing/renewal,
enforcement, licensee and consumer
communications) are assigned to at
least one dedicated staff person
• No real enforcement under the current
understaffed and under-funded scenario
• A minimum budget of $355,000 is required for FY 2009-10 which amount
would reportedly be sufficient for the
addition of a second staff person (using
a cost analysis of $75,000-100,000/staff
person, including overhead and equipment).
• Additional potential costs to the program could include court reporters,
enforcement, Attorney General’s office,
etc.
We emphasized the importance of retaining the licensing process, noting that (1)
the need for professionals would continue to
grow as Californians aged, (2) fiduciaries are
responsible for handling billions of dollars
in client assets, and (3) are often responsible
for life-and-death health care decisions. We
also noted that the PFAC office receives calls
daily from individuals who wish to become
fiduciaries and commented that the on-line
courses by CSU Fullerton, which many use
as the pre-requisite for the 30-hour continuing education requirement, continue to be
full.
We also discussed the fact that the
number of exemptions to the licensing requirement, outlined in the original legislation, had had an impact on the number of
licensees. However, we also pointed out
that the Naturopathic Medicine Committee
(formerly the Bureau of Naturopathic Medicine) had been licensing naturopathic doctors (ND’s) since January 2005 and that during that time, had licensed only 395 ND’s,
while the PFB had licensed 405 individuals
in an 18-month period (the current number
of licensed fiduciaries stands at 430).
While there were no final determinations, everyone agreed that the meeting had
been informative and that we would continue to work to find solutions to ensure the
viability of the Bureau.
I would also like to report that Mr.
Wallinder graciously agreed to meet with the
PFAC Board of Directors during its meeting
the following week in Sacramento. While
the discussion covered much of the ground
of the Advisory Committee meeting, the
frank, back-and-forth discussion was helpful to the Board as well as to Mr. Wallinder.
While challenging, the PFAC Board
of Directors is committed to work with the
Bureau, Legislature and Administration to
find solutions to these concerns and will
continue to discuss ideas to increase licensure numbers and encourage practitioners to
become licensed.
As always, please feel free to contact me,
a PFAC Board member, or Executive Director
Jackie Miller should you have questions. ■
Region Updates continued from page 4
and administration of the fund will be by volunteers, spearheaded
by Norine Boehmer. Our meeting also included a treasurer’s report
from Robert Dutil and the regional director’s report from Norine
Boehmer. We concluded with a celebration of life and toast to our
dear friend and colleague, Shirley Trissler, while we exchanged
memories and stories that reminded us of Shirley’s giving nature and
many special characteristics and qualities.
Dr. Lois Frankel was scheduled to speak at the Women’s City Club
on February 20. She is the renowned author of several bestselling
books focused on coaching success in building and sustaining their
own business.
In conclusion, we announced the upcoming plans for PFAC’s
Annual Educational Conference in San Diego May 5 – 7 at the Hilton Resort and Spa. Members were encouraged to register early. We
also promoted attendance at the Pre-conference intensive workshop
on Eldercare from Start to Finish: Advocating For Your Clients from
Cradle to Grave. Please check the PFAC website for additional information. ■
Our next and final meeting for this year will be on April 22. We
are currently in the process of confirming a guest speaker. During
the January meeting, members expressed an interest in learning more
about hospice care. Additionally, there was interest in a program devoted to business building strategies. One member announced that
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
8
Make Plans NOW to Join Us in Beach City USA!
15th Annual PFAC Educational Conference
May 5-7, 2010
Hilton Resort & Spa, San Diego, CA
Online Registration Now Open!
Go to http://www.pfac-pro.org/pages/meetings.htm
for additional information on the conference included a
details program of events and guidelines for making hotel
reservations.
Pre-Conference Intensive (Separate $220 fee applies; 7.75
credit hours)
Eldercare from Start to Finish: Advocating For Your Clients
from Cradle to Grave
your effectiveness in your relationships with your clients.
When Is It Appropriate to Leave a Case?: An Ethics Session
presented by Nancy Kaupp Ewin, Esq.
The Latest Trends in Elder Abuse presented by Paul Greenwood,
Assistant District Attorney, San Diego County District Attorneys Office,
Elder Abuse Unit
An all day (9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) program for fiduciaries who
wish to manage their clients healthcare end-of-life needs. We
will discuss how to read a medical chart and interact with a care
manager, understand how to advocate for a client at end-of-life and
understand basic health issues for the elderly.
Conference Credit Hours
For your participation, you will earn 1.5 credit hours per breakout
session and 1 credit hour per general session. Breakout session
content is evenly split between estate and person. A total of 12 credit
hours are available for the conference. 18.25 total hours (breakout
#1 gets dropped) are available to those who also participate in the
pre-conference intensive.
Presenters: Pat McVey-Ritsick, PMR Fiduciary Services; Joseph
A. Ritsick, M.D., Physician, Yountville Veterans Hospital; Sylvia
Gandolpho, Care Manager, Eldercare Services
General Sessions
Making Moments Matter: Re-Embracing Your Passion presented
by Shirley Otis-Green, Senior Research Specialist, Division of Nursing
Research and Education, Department of Population Sciences, City of
Hope National Medical Center
Re-experience the passion that led you to be a fiduciary and explore
the lessons you can learn from working with older adults/others and
their families as they experience the challenges and losses, especially
those associated with aging. Discovering the steps to more mindfully
make moments matter and minimizing future regrets will increase
Thank You to Our Sponsors/Exhibitors
We thank our sponsors & exhibitors to date (as of 3/1/10) for their
participation. Their participation allows you exposure to vital
services, helps keep conference costs down and provides PFAC with
funds for important services to members. Encourage YOUR
vendors to add their names to the list. Sponsor/exhibitor information
is available at www.pfac-pro.org.
Sponsors
Bronze Level: Phillips Bonding & Insurance Company
Friend of PFAC: Brierton, Jones, & Jones, LLP; Jackson & Efting; Windermere Pacific Coast Properties; Wingert Grebing Brubaker & Goodwin,
LLP
Exhibitors
Absolute Health Care; Agesong; Alliance Portfolio, Private Equity Finance; Angels Watch Home Care; Been-Network Properties; Cole & Company
Wealth Management; Comfort Keepers; Continuity Care Home Nurses; Dominion Insurance; Elder Services; First Equitable Financial; First Team
Real Estate (Marson); First Team Real Estate (Martinez); Flans & Weiner; Four Seasons; Gamburd Independent Living Solutions; Innovative
Healthcare Consultants; LivHOME; McKean & McMills, LP; MetLife; Miss Diva; Morgan Stanley Smith Barney-Clarke Group; Myers
Urbatsch, P.C.; Prudent Investors Network; Raya’s Paradise; Re/Max Santa Clara Valley; Rehabilitation Care Coordination; Sem Applications,
Inc.; Sorenson Insurance Services; Thomson Reuters; Torrey Pines Bank; Wells Fargo Advisors (Kramer/ Haeseler)
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
9
Welcome New Members
Associate to General
Dawn Akel, CLPF
Akel Fiduciary Services
P.O. Box 582603
Elk Grove, CA 95758
(916) 686-7804
[email protected]
Sandra Hill, NCG, CLPF
Sandy Hill Fiduciary Services
903 Pacific Avenue, Ste 307-A
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
(831) 425-7700
[email protected]
Gregory Honegger, CPA
19475 Cavanagh Street
Bakersfield, CA 93314
(661) 387-9954
[email protected]
Alan Statman, NCG, CLPF
Trust Matters
4096 Piedmont Avenue, #559
Oakland, CA 94611
(510) 593-3663
[email protected]
Associate Members
Joanne Backman
1571 Visalia Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94707
(510) 507-9705
[email protected]
Raj Ditta
Philo-So-Phes Professonal Fiduciary
P.O. Box 986
Pinole, CA 94564
(510) 776-7448
[email protected]
Randel Doss
31581 Contour Avenue
Nuevo, CA 92567
(951) 634-5882
[email protected]
Shelley Eskildsen
10337 Amada Place
Santee, CA 92071
(669) 559-6099
[email protected]
Kathy Fernandez, CLPF
30472 Via Estoril
Laguna Niguel, CA 92677
(949) 249-1240
[email protected]
Jorge Ferrer
10 Virginia Gardens
Berkeley, CA 94702
(510) 843-0525
[email protected]
Kathleen Forte
Forte & Associates
44 Red Hill Circle
Tiburon, CA 94920
(415) 497-6374
[email protected]
Karen Fritz
Trusted Care Fiduciary Services
4415 Greenbrier Road
Long Beach, CA 90808
(562) 900-4071
[email protected]
Mike Gonzalez, Jr.
Fiduciary Management Associates
4915 Hidden Dune Court
San Diego, CA 92130
(858) 755-2810
[email protected]
Lisa Hansen, CLPF
Lisa K. Hansen Private Professional
Fiduciary
P.O. Box 129
Bayside, CA 95524
(707) 822-4820
[email protected]
Kellie Hayes
1068 Marigold Road
Livermore, CA 94551
(925) 455-9755
[email protected]
Suzanne Kane Bassani
Your Executor
21012 Keswick Street
Canoga Park, CA 91304
(818) 704-5513
[email protected]
Daniel Lanahan
1417 Perkins Drive
Chula Vista, CA 91911
(619) 649-2990
[email protected]
Kimberly Merlitti
Debra Dolch Fiduciary Services
2396 Webster Street, Spt. #2
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 730-0023
[email protected]
Timothy Mock
One 62nd Place, Unit 202
Long Beach, CA 90802
(562) 433-3677
[email protected]
Karin Tausan
5092 E. Mountain View Drive
San Diego, CA 92116
(619) 246-8350
[email protected]
Madonna Tidwell
Trusted Care Probate Services
2935 Douglas Way
Corona, CA 92882
(951) 273-0680
[email protected]
Michael Turner
1128 Hacienda Drive
El Cajon, CA 92020-1720
(619) 449-2627
[email protected]
William Hoggan
3130 Cedarcrest Ln.
San Jose, CA 95132
(408) 712-9457
[email protected]
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
10
Executive Director’s report continued from page 3
legislative advocate, and I will be following not only the activities of the Bureau but the budget process, as well, to ensure that
it remains a viable entity, whether independent or within another
licensing board. I believe that this is the most important challenge
to PFAC for now and the future, and we must not let other issues
distract from this. ■
President Shvil and I have had preliminary discussions with Bill
Bradley of Me Communications regarding PR initiatives, and he and
his partner Janet Soule participated in a recent committee conference call. Bill is very familiar with PFAC and the profession through
his previous relationship with Perry Communications. He worked
not only on the 2005-2006 negative publicity as a result of the LA
Times articles and the subsequent fallout, but provided counsel on
how to reduce the negative impact. He wrote press releases, letters to
the editor, and op-eds. He also worked with the Association during
2008, as well, sending press releases to the major California media
and developing press release templates for individual members’ use
in their own area when professional licensure was established. He
will be a valuable asset to our PR efforts.
Michele Smith
Conservatorship Court Accountings
Melissa Hensley is working with the Website and Public Relations committees on the website update and other PFAC material to
ensure consistency in the look and feel. Following a review by the
PR Committee’s of the current logo, there was consensus to retain it,
with some minor revisions to update the look. The Committee will
review the logo designs to ensure that they remain consistent with
the current one. • Accurate, Timely, Confidental
• Competitive Rates
Vice President/President-Elect Thomas Thale has resigned from
the Board, and Norine Boehmer has been asked to fill that position.
Her position as Southern Region Director has been filled by Lee
Ann Hitchman. We welcome her to the Board.
• References Available
We continue to work with the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau
when members have issues or concerns. Both Sandy Carey, our
PO Box 4426
Antioch, CA 94531
Cell: 925.470.9220
Fax: 925.706.2616
Email: [email protected]
Region and Chapter Contacts
Northern Region
Patricia McVey-Ritsick
925-627-1593
[email protected]
East Bay Chapter
Janice Kittredge
925 465 5500
[email protected]
Sacramento Chapter
Matt Quentmeyer
530-621-3912
[email protected]
Central San Joaquin Valley
Chapter
Ronald Dicken
559-732-0759
[email protected]
San Francisco Chapter
Susan Ford
415-674-8973
[email protected]
Andrea Leung
415-752-7168
[email protected]
Silicon Valley Chapter
Thomas Thorpe
408-978-8101
[email protected]
Santa Rosa Chapter
Jan Logan
707-823-8263
[email protected]
Feather River Chapter
Ronda Brunson
530-879-7650
[email protected]
San Mateo Chapter
Debra Dolch
415-543-2121
[email protected]
Anne Smith
415-299-0198
[email protected]
Southern Region
Lee Ann Hitchman
714-276-2112
[email protected]
Inland Empire Chapter
Sam Hlavaty
760-244-6592
[email protected]
Orange County Chapter
Lee Ann Hitchman
714-276-2112
[email protected]
Central Coastal Chapter
Jacquelyn Quinn
805-966-3312
[email protected]
Desert Chapter
Ronald Olund
760-323-8857
[email protected]
Debra Trout
805-547-1288
[email protected]
San Gabriel Valley Chapter
Annabelle Wilson
626-792-1664
[email protected]
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
11
Calendar of Events
Subject to change. Call local contact to confirm schedule, location and topics.
April
15 East Bay Chapter Meeting, 12:00 1:00pm, San Leandro Library, 300
Estudillo Avenue, Members $5,
NonMembers $15, RSVP to janice@
californiaseniorconnection.com
15 Sacramento Chapter Meeting, 7:00am,
Mimi’s Cafe, 2029 Alta Arden
Expressway Sacramento, CA 95825.
Speaker: Kim Johnsen, Always Best
Care
28 San Diego Region Conservatorship
Class 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Collwood
Terrace, 4518 54th Street, San Diego,
CA. Call 619.698.9450 to make
reservations. The Conservator Class is
facilitated for family members that have
been ordered by the court to attend this
class to fulfill the court requirement.
May
24 Sacramento Chapter Meeting,
11:00 am
25 Silicon Valley Chapter Meeting,
Hobee’s Pruneyard, 1875 S. Bascom
Avenue, Unit 190, Campbell, CA.
Topic: Working with Your Attorney.
Speakers: Attorneys Kathleen Durrans
and Melissa Karlsten of Aaron,
Riechert, Carpol & Riffle , APC.
Members $20, NonMembers $30
4 PFAC Board of Directors’ Meeting
Hilton Resort and Spa, San Diego
July
21 San Diego Region Breakfast Meeting
7:30 - 9:00 a.m. Silverado Escondido
1500 Borden Road, Escondido CA Topic: Adult Protective Services. RSVP
Required (619) 685-7423.
5 - 7 PFAC Spring Conference, Hilton
Resort and Spa, San Diego
14 PFAC Leadership Training PFAC
Administrative Office, Sacramento
18 San Diego MEMBERS ONLY
Planning Meeting Lunch
22 Southern Region Meeting, 11:30am
- 1:30pm, Sportsmen’s Lodge, 12833
Ventura Blvd, Studio City, Cost: $30
prior to meeting, $40 at the door,
RSVP by April 19th to julia.nelson@
yahoo.com, Checks payable to PFAC
to: Robert Dutil4067 Hardwick St.
Suite 411Lakewood, CA 90712
14 PFAC Board of Directors’ Meeting,
PFAC Administrative Office,
Sacramento
26 San Diego Region Conservatorship
Class 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. - Silverado
Escondido, 1500 Borden Road,
Escondico, CA. Call 619.698.9450 to
make reservations. The Conservator
Class is facilitated for family members
that have been ordered by the court
to attend this class to fulfill the court
requirement.
23 Silicon Valley Chapter Meeting,
Hobee’s Pruneyard, 1875 S. Bascom
Avenue, Unit 190, Campbell, CA.
Members $20, NonMembers $30
June 17 PFAC Northern Region Meeting/
Dinner, 6:00pm, Bistro 33, Davis. The
board meeting is at 4:30pm.
November 2010
4 - 5 PFAC Fall Conference, Renaissance
Hotel, Long Beach
Email your meeting announcements to pfac@
amgroup.us, to have them included in this
listing. Meeting schedules subject to change. ■
National Guardianship Association Announces
A New Virtual Prep-Course
For the National Certification Exam
If you have considered sitting for the examination to become a National Certified Guardian, NGA has just
made it easier to participate in a group prep-course.
Beginning this February, the NGA Review Course for the national certification exam is being presented in a
virtual seminar format offering guardians, conservators and fiduciaries the opportunity to share a study experience for the examination right from their own desk using a computer and a toll free phone number.
To facilitate the webinar format, the four-hour course has been divided into modules with each of the hourlong sessions focused on a defined topic. Participants can register for all four sessions or just those where
brush-up training is desired.
The national certification program measures understanding of guardianship practices in the context of the
National Guardianship Association’s Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics. The course is an in-depth
review of the NGA National Study Guide and is taught by “Approved Educators” from NGA. The course is
not intended to cover state-specific portions of examinations in California, Florida, Oregon, or Texas. Review
Course registration must be received by NGA 7 days before the start date. Please visit www.guardianship.org,
or call 877-326-5992 for additional information.
Guides for Independent Study Are Also Available
If you want to prepare for the national certification exam without taking a Review Course or if you plan to
register for a Review Course at a later time, you can also purchase a study guide without registering for the
course. State-specific study guides are also available for California and Florida. NGA does not offer a statespecific study guide for any other state.
It’s important to remember that NGA does not actually administer the Certification Exams. The Center for
Guardianship Certification (CGC), which conducts exams, is an entirely separate organization with a different staff and offices located in a different city than NGA. Registering for NGA’s Review Course or ordering
study materials does not automatically register you for the exam and vice versa.
About Certification/Licensing Exams Through The CGC
Guardians from any state are invited to demonstrate a commitment to quality guardianship by taking the examination and earning the nationally recognized professional credential of NGC – National Certified Guardian. Combined national and state specific exams are also administered by the CGC to meet requirements for
California licensing, Florida competency, and Oregon and Texas certification.
For detailed information on Certification/Licensing Exams go to the website of the Center for Guardianship
Certification at http://www.guardianshipcert.org/ or call at 717-238-4689.
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
13
Legislative Update
Sandy Carey, Advocate
A
s was reported to you in January, the
PFAC Legislative Committee established a course of action for the 2010 legislative year. This report will update that
account.
We worked with 17 legislative offices,
beginning in December, in an effort to secure
an author for our proposed legislation. That
legislation initially would have provided that
Enrolled Agents (EAs) operate strictly within their licensed scope of practice. In legislative year 2009, Assembly Member Hayashi
authored a measure that specifically would
have allowed an EA to operate at will without regard to scope of practice. We were able
to kill that bill in the Assembly. However,
because of the fact our proposed bill would
have to be heard in the Assembly Business
and Professions Committees, which Committee Assembly Member Hayashi Chairs,
other legislators this year were reluctant to
take on a bill that would surely be killed by
the Chair in that Committee. We had been
hopeful early on in our efforts that Assembly
Member Hayashi might be removed from
this Committee, as had been rumored, but
that did not happen.
When it became clear that we were not
going to be able to find an author to carry
the language we had proposed, the Committee elected to remove the language from
our proposed bill and instead substitute language that would be more of a “clean up”
provision streamlining the descriptors and
provisions for trustees and agents under
powers of attorney with those provisions
currently in statute for guardians and conservators, i.e., the “for two more “ language,
specifically:
6501(f)(2) “Professional fiduciary” also
means a person who acts as a trustee, agent
under a durable power of attorney for health
care or advanced health care directive, or agent
under a durable power of attorney for finances,
agent or attorney in fact under a general power of attorney or power of attorney for two or
more individuals, unless those individuals are
related to the fiduciary. Further, we would amend the remainder of that section to read:
In counting individuals under this
paragraph to determine whether a person is a
professional fiduciary:
(A) Individuals who are related to the
fiduciary shall not be counted.
(B) All individuals who are related to
each other shall be counted as one multiple individuals.
(C) All trustors who are related to each
other shall be counted as multiple one individuals, and However, neither the number of
trusts nor the number of beneficiaries of those
trusts shall be counted.
Note that this specification would mirror the language for conservators and guardians in the preceding section, to wit:
6501(f) (1) “Professional fiduciary”
means a person who acts as a conservator of
the person, the estate, or person and estate, or
guardian of the estate, or person and estate, for
two or more individuals at the same time who
are not related to the professional fiduciary or
to each other.
We ran into additional problems with
this new language. Legislators and their
staffs wanted to know how many of the currently unlicensed practitioners (i.e., those
who are representing multiple individuals
(but under the threshold in current statute)
are causing harm to the public. We do not
have statistics that are able to sufficiently
motivate the members to take on a bill that
they believe will potentially fail without
compelling evidence to the contrary. Unfortunately we were not equipped to gather
such compelling statistics to win our case
given that we started working the new language close to the deadline for bill introductions (end of February).
I have been working with the Senate Business and Professions Committee to
include a form of the language above in a
Committee bill later in the session. As you
may know, any additions to committee bills
will be by way of amendment rather than
the introduced version. So we have some
time to figure some things out. However,
one problem that has presented itself is this:
the language we are proposing in our revised
bill would run counter in part to legislation
that was introduced by Senator Harman last
year (SB 308). That bill was passed in an
amended version and, among other things,
clarified that in determining exemptions to
licensure for trustees or agents under powers
of attorney, 1) all individuals who are related
to each other would count as one individual
and 2) trustors related to each other would
count as one individual. The Committee
may feel, particularly in noting that our language in its present form would undo some
provisions of the Harman measure, that this
is not a compelling amendment. We will
need to be armed with multiple examples of
why this change is critical to the protection
of the public. We may be compelled to accept some version of our language if not the
current proposal. FYI the Judicial Council
supported the Harmon bill last year.
The remaining clean up language submitted in the initial version of our proposed
bill under Section 6561(c ) would remain in
the bill. This provision states:
6561. (a) A licensee shall initially, and
annually thereafter, file with the bureau a
statement under penalty of perjury containing
the following. Annual filings that are made
following the initial filing shall be required
to contain only new or amended information
from that contained in the initial filing.
I am working with both the Senate
Business and Professions Committee, the
Assembly Business and Profession Committee in an effort to schedule, under PFAC’s
sponsorship, an informational legislative
hearing in the Spring, the purpose of which
will be to educate both legislators and their
Continued on the next page
professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
14
Legislative Update continued from previous page
staffs on the profession and its growing importance to the public. This hearing will
likely take place sometime in either late
Spring-early Summer given the fluctuations
of legislative calendars and the preoccupation with budget issues.










We are facing challenges this year on
how the Department of Consumer Affairs
and the Legislature are going to address the
practicality or even the necessity of licensing and state oversight of this profession and
the Bureau. PFAC will remain involved in
these discussions and potential legislation
that would impact the Bureau and how it
operates.


Ongoing legislative oversight and involvement in selected bills will continue as
we have in past years. There have been 2074
bill introduced this year for the 2010 session
year. Some will be of interest to the profession. I am in the process of reviewing these
bills and am preparing a listing of relevant
bills.
Again, this is an election year. All
members of the Assembly are affected, half
of the Senate, constitutional officers and, of
course, the Governor. This fact, along with
the disaster that is the fiscal condition of the
state will govern how business is done in
California government. An example – there
are currently 58 budget trailer bills under
consideration. That number will grow and
become even more complex. We are in for
an interesting year! We will keep you informed on issues that have an impact on the
profession and your clients. ■

































professional fiduciar y association of california • one capitol mall, suite 320 • sacramento, ca 95814
916-669-5330 • toll-free 866-886-7322 • fax (916) 444-7462 • www.pfac-pro.org • email [email protected]
15
Professional Fiduciary
Association of California
One Capitol Mall, Suite 320
Sacramento, CA 95814
ORDER FORM
“Answer your Questions About
Fiduciaries” Pamphlet
ORDER FORM
Name:
“Answer
your Questions About Fiduciaries” Pamphlet
Company:
Address:
Name:
City,
State, Zip
Company:
Phone:
Address:
Fax:
City, State, Zip
Phone:
QuantityFax:
Pack Count
Price per Pack
Pack of 25
Quantity Pack Count
Pack of 25
Pack of 50
Pack of 100
o Check
$5.00
Price per Pack
Pack
of 50
$5.00
Pack
of 100
$10.00
$20.00
Payment Information:
Total
$10.00
$20.00
Total of Order: $
o MasterCard Total
Total of Order:
$
o Visa
Payment Information:
Card Number:
Check
Expiration Date
MasterCard
Visa
Security Code:
Card Number:
Print Name:
Expiration Date
Security Code:
Signature:
Print Name:
Please
send completed form and payment to:
Signature:
PFAC | One Capitol Mall, Suite 320, Sacramento, CA 95814 | OR | Fax to: (916) 444-7462
Please send completed form and payment to:
PFAC
Questions? Call 866-886-7322