OUR SERVICESYour Legacy. Our Duty.
Solofid offers private professional fiduciary services, which include trust administration, estate administration, conservatorships of the estate and person, and serving as an agent under power of attorney for financial and healthcare needs. We develop and execute financial strategies in tandem with your care and/or estate plan to ensure your wishes and assets are handled in accordance with the detailed intentions that define your legacy.
Trust Administration
The intent and will of the Trustor(s) is/are paramount in a trust administration.
We administrate almost all types of trusts, including Special Needs Trusts.
Please note the below list is not exhaustive of the various types of trust administration we can administer for you. Please contact us if you have any questions about your particular situation. Our fee schedule for private trust administration can be downloaded here.
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Living trusts are a common tool attorneys use for estate planning. These trusts are typically structured to care for your livelihood upon a loss of capacity, and are then liquidated out to beneficiaries upon passing. Your attorney will advise you if this tool is appropriate in your estate plan.
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SNTs are typically designed to maintain eligibility for public benefits for individuals who are disabled. Your attorney will advise you if this is appropriate in your special needs benefits plan and/or estate plan.
Sometimes a SNT is paired with an ABLE account. More information on ABLE accounts can be found here: https://www.calable.ca.gov/
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Individuals interested in donating to charities may be advised by their attorney to establish a type of charitable trust. There are many different kinds of charitable trusts available, and your attorney will advise you on the type of giving plan most appropriate to your goals.
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If you are a pet owner and are concerned about the livelihood of your pets upon loss of capacity or passing, you may want to ask your attorney if a pet trust is right for you.
These trusts are available in some states, and can provide the necessary financial support for your pet. This will ease the financial burden of the family member or individual that decides to adopt your pet into their family.
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The IRS describes an ESBT as follows: “ An ESBT is a statutory creature established by IRC Section 641(c). By meeting the requirements of an ESBT, a trust may own S Corporation shares. ESBT's must file Form 1041 and the S Corporation income is taxed at the trust's highest marginal rate. No income distribution deduction is allowed to beneficiaries. To be treated as an ESBT, an election must be made.”
More information on ESBTs may be found here: § 1.641(c)-1 Electing small business trustYour attorney will be able to advise you if an ESBT is an appropriate tool in your estate plan.
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The IRS uses the following to describe QSSTs: “A QSST is a statutory creature established by IRC Section 1361(d)(3). By meeting the requirements of a QSST, a trust may own S Corporation shares. An election must be made to be treated as a QSST and once made is irrevocable.”
More information on QSSTs can be found here: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-26/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subject-group-ECFRb86d0e61df38992/section-1.1361-1#p-1.1361-1(j)
Your attorney will be able to advise you if a QSST is an appropriate tool in your estate plan.
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Bypass Trusts are trust instruments known by a wide variety of other names such as: B Trusts (in an A/B trust strategy), Exemption Trusts, Credit Shelter Trusts, and also Family Trusts. The core goal is to have assets available for the benefit of a surviving spouse, but to keep the assets out of a surviving spouse’s estate when they pass. There are multiple reasons why a couple may want to use this trust instrument, and your attorney will be able to advise you on this strategy if they deem it appropriate for your situation.
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Lifetime benefits trusts are trusts that are designed to utilize the assets inside of the trust for the use and benefit of the beneficiary, while simultaneously providing asset protection. The trust lasts for the duration of the beneficiary’s lifetime, and upon their passing is distributed out. Lifetime benefits trusts are typically funded by inheritance, but they can also be funded by any 1st or 3rd party contribution to the trust. Your attorney will be able to provide counsel on whether or not a lifetime benefits trust is appropriate for your situation.
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Unitrusts are trust instruments that distribute out a fixed percentage of the fair market value (FMV) of the assets held in the trust. A common use of a unitrust is to balance the interests of the current beneficiary with the remainder beneficiary. Your attorney will be able to advise you if utilizing a unitrust will be advantageous to your estate plan.
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Discretionary trusts are common trust instruments that are typically funded by an inheritance, but can be funded through 1st or other 3rd party contributions. They provide the trustee with the authority of discretion on how the assets may most appropriately be utilized for the beneficiary. This provides substantially more flexibility to the trustee, which can help protect the beneficiary from unexpected future events. However, discretion can be very subjective, and your attorney can provide advice on the benefits and drawbacks of these trust instruments, and whether or not one may be right for you.
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Settlement protection trusts, also known as settlement preservation trusts or settlement management trusts, are trusts designed to protect the proceeds of a settlement and ensure they are administered in terms with the settlement agreement. There are a plethora of ways to structure settlements, and your attorney will know whether or not a settlement trust is appropriate in your situation.
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QTIP trusts stand for “Qualified Terminable Interest Property” trusts. These trust instruments provide a surviving spouse with access to the income of assets within the trust and use of real property in the trust. Upon passing of the surviving spouse, the assets get distributed to the remainder beneficiaries of the trust. QTIPs are commonly used to ensure children from a previous marriage inherit assets that the grantor wishes to have distributed to them, after a surviving spouse is taken care of. You attorney will be able to assess your concerns and situation, and can provide legal counsel on whether or not a QTIP trust is appropriate in your estate plan.
Conservatorship of the Estate Administration
Conservators of the Estate are court-appointed and overseen by the local county California Probate Court.
Once Letters of Conservatorship are granted by the court, the Soloway Fiduciaries representative and the selected attorney begin their administration of the conservatee’s estate per Probate code and standard county court practices. This typically involves marshaling assets under the control of the conservator, and appropriately handling those assets subject to the needs of the conservatee. The preparation of a tax return may be required, and we will hire the appropriate professional and gather the necessary information. Soloway Fiduciaries provides periodic accountings to the court and related parties on a schedule set by the California Probate Code.
County court rules determine conservatorship of the estate administration fees. In Contra Costa County we charge an annual conservatorship of the estate fee of 1% on AUM. We do not take conservatorship cases in Alameda or San Francisco County.
Estate Administration
Estate administrators are court-appointed and overseen by the California Probate Court.
Once appointed, the representative of Soloway Fiduciaries along with the chosen attorney will administer the estate per the decedent’s Will or, if no Will exists, per intestate succession. It is our job to marshal all of the assets under our control and handle them accordingly. If the preparation of an estate tax return is required we will hire the appropriate professional and gather the necessary information. An expedient close of the estate is always our goal. With an estate administration, the court will approve the final accounting before the close of the estate.
The California Probate Code determines estate administration fees, which can be found at the following links:
Agent under Power of Attorney for Finances
A Power of Attorney (POA) combined with a trust is a commonly used estate planning tool.
Most financial power of attorneys we administer are used as an estate planning tool to administer assets held outside of trust during an incapacitated individual’s lifetime. We typically see most POA assets that continue to exist after death going into a pour-over will, which subsequently pushes them into a trust to avoid probate. Your attorney will be able to provide you with the legal advice necessary to decide what estate planning tools would be beneficial for your unique situation.
Fees for services as agent under power of attorney for finances are the same as our trust administration fee.
