Trusted Partners & Compassionate Advocates
As a mindful fiduciary agency, we serve as trusted partners and compassionate advocates in managing and protecting the personal affairs, property, and assets of our clients in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. We take a heart-centered, hands-on approach to our work, ensuring our clients are seen and heard while their needs and wishes are supported and implemented. Our extensive expertise allows us to manage even the most complex cases with care and consideration.
A Heart-Centered & Hands-On Approach
Our responsibilities have a direct impact on the well-being of those we serve, from everyday concerns to end-of-life considerations. Because we work with a broad range of individuals at varying stages of life and capacities, we support and affirm their autonomy and independence by prioritizing long-term vision and holistic planning.
Our personalized services are supported by efficient and streamlined account management. Our clients can rely on us to keep their active accounts in order while anticipating and helping plan for big-picture needs before they arise. By serving with compassion and guiding through experience, we build relationships beyond the numbers to help our clients live well now and through their legacy.
What to Expect from a Private Professional Fiduciary
Private professional fiduciaries provide critical services to seniors, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable individuals, managing matters for clients including daily care, housing, and medical needs, and providing financial management services ranging from bill payment to estate administration. We describe the word "fiduciary" as an umbrella term for various roles, such as trustee, executor, conservator, and health care agent. A fiduciary is someone you, your loved ones, or the court entrusts to safeguard your interests and well-being.
Trust & Honor Founder Sara Ecklein is licensed through The Professional Fiduciaries Bureau at the California Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees licensing in the state.Learn more about us
Who We Work With
We work with a broad range of individuals at varying stages of life, from those with limited mental or physical capacity in need of comprehensive support, to clients managing their end-of-life care, to active couples planning their legacy.
Often, individuals with severe disabilities or limited capacity are vulnerable and isolated. They may be in need of long-term support, and separate from the oversight of their loved ones. From paying bills, to selecting caregiving agencies, to protecting them from predation or abuse, we serve our clients as trusted partners in managing their affairs and advocating for their best interests.
Similarly, end-of-life care decisions can become a source of stress and distraction when an individual is in decline. One of the greatest benefits of our services is providing our clients with a sense of calm and reassurance in their final days of life, allowing them to rest and transition peacefully, rather than feeling consumed with worry about their affairs.
Because family dynamics are complex, working with a fiduciary can ease the personal burdens put on individual family members, minimize power struggles, and provide clients with greater peace of mind, knowing their needs and wishes will be supported and implemented. Through our broad range of fiduciary services, Trust & Honor is able to address the changing needs of our clients over time, and to partner with other service providers if and when they’re needed.
Partnering for Support
When clients need a larger network of support, we are available to serve as the point of contact and connection in partnering with financial planners, attorneys, assisted living communities, home care agencies, care managers, and other entities to address the comprehensive needs of those we serve. We are available to provide referrals for related service providers upon request.
Praise
Personalized Fiduciary Services for the San Francisco Bay Area & Beyond
At Trust & Honor, we bring a personal commitment and connection to our services that is unique in our field and distinct from the term "fiduciary" may call to mind. We focus on building personal, long-term relationships with our clients and offer a full spectrum of fiduciary services to meet their unique and changing needs over time. Our extensive expertise and heart-centered approach allow us to manage even the most complex cases with care and consideration.
Special Needs Trust Administration
A special needs trust is created to allow for a person who is disabled or physically or mentally ill to have access to funding without losing public benefits. Public benefit programs, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medi-CAL, are based on certain income and asset restrictions. Assets put into the special needs trust do not count towards qualifying for these benefits; the trust therefore allows for the additional financial support of the individual with special needs. As trustee for a special needs trust, we work to ensure the assets held in trust are used to pay only for permitted expenses, such as medical needs or housing. We also advocate on behalf of our clients to ensure they receive the full public benefits to which they are entitled, and we regularly interface directly with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Social Services.
Trust Administration
Trust administration involves the management of a trust and transfer of the property held within it. Trusts are often created to eliminate the need for court supervision, which can add complexity and cost to managing an individual's affairs following their death. By serving as a neutral, independent party, we are also able to mitigate disruption or disagreement among beneficiaries. We serve as trustees during a client's lifetime and following their death. Our work helps ensure the security of a client's assets, such as securing adequate home insurance coverage, conducting property checks on a vacant home, assisting with healthcare decisions and placement, and other practical considerations to assist a client through varying life stages.
Power of Attorney for Finance & Health care
A power of attorney document allows a client to designate an agent to perform specific transactions on their behalf. When given power of attorney, we are able to make important financial and healthcare related transactions, such as paying for housing and caregiving costs for our clients, as well as facilitating in carrying out a client's final wishes.
About Sara Ecklein,
Trust & Honor Founder
Sara Ecklein’s calling to become a fiduciary, and to found Trust & Honor, was informed by personal experience with loss and end-of-life care. After witnessing a loved one's final three days of life, Sara connected to her personal mission to provide healing and a sense of calm to people during their end of life transition. Sara has been working in the private professional fiduciary profession since 2014 and has a rich and varied background in issues facing senior and disabled populations, including end-of-life care, financial abuse, and navigating challenging support systems and family dynamics.
Because of her ability to see the big picture while also focusing on the details, Sara has a proven history of working with highly complex cases, having executed all aspects of conservatorships and the administration of estates, trusts, and special needs trusts.
Prior to founding Trust & Honor, Sara provided case management services to disabled and senior clients, and managed and advocated for public benefits, interfacing regularly with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Social Services. Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political, Legal, and Economic Analysis from Mills College. She is a Licensed Professional Fiduciary (CLPF #1166), a Certified National Guardian, and a General Member of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California. During her free time, Sara enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, and exploring hiking trails throughout the Bay Area with her husband and 1 year old daughter. A fun fact - one of Sara's most rewarding personal accomplishments has been completing the John Muir Trail, a 213 mile journey through the Sierra Nevadas beginning in Yosemite and ending on the summit of Mount Whitney.
Sara considers it an honor to serve as a trusted fiduciary partner to our clients.Work with us
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