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Lay people often agree to act as an agent or trustee on behalf of another family member – usually a parent – without knowing that they are agreeing to become a fiduciary and what that means.
Becoming a fiduciary is entering into a legal relationship that entails trust, responsibility and accountability.
There are many different types of fiduciary positions, including agents, trustees, executors and conservators.
Married people also owe each other a fiduciary duty in their dealings with each other and the couple's community property estate.
The word “fiduciary” is a legal word. Broadly speaking a fiduciary means anyone who acts in a representative capacity, with legal authority, on behalf of another (such as another person and/or their estate).
A fiduciary broadly speaking has two very important legal duties: First, the duty of loyalty, that means to always act in the best interest of the principal; and second, the duty of care, that means to act competently under the circumstances.
Anyone who acts as an agent under a power of attorney is a fiduciary. That is true regardless of how formally or informally the power of attorney was created and regardless of how informed or uninformed the agent was as to his or her duties.
Even boilerplate preprinted power of attorney stationary form once duly executed is sufficient to make the agent a fiduciary, if and when they agree to act as agent.
That means the agent under the power of attorney must always act both competently under the circumstances and in the best interest of the principal.
They must avoid conflicts of interest, such as self dealing, except sometimes as expressly and properly waived in the power of attorney.
When an agent, or any fiduciary, breaches their duties they can later be held responsible in court.
Some people are surprised to learn that even a lay person when acting as an agent under another person's power of attorney can under current California law be held to account under the same standards of care as a paid professional fiduciary, even when acting on behalf of a close relative.
That means an agent who uses his fiduciary authority to control the investments should obtain professional investment advice from a qualified financial advisor. The law otherwise favors protecting the principal and holding the agent accountable.
Accordingly, no one acting as a fiduciary should ever go it alone. To properly carry out their fiduciary duties, an agent and trustee often obtain professional guidance, when and as needed, from an attorney, financial advisor and tax preparer.
So long as the agent or trustee acts responsibly in hiring and following the advice of these competent advisors the agent or trustee has typically fulfilled his or her duty to act competently.
Unfortunately many people become fiduciaries and do not seek needed legal and other professional guidance on a timely basis and/or they engage in self dealing and run afoul of their fiduciary duties.
A go-it-alone approach is easily done when the fiduciary relationship is not court supervised, such as with the power of attorney and the trust.
Unsupervised lay fiduciaries can proceed to act – in ignorance of their fiduciary duties – without an attorney.
It is only later-on, down the road, when the actions of the fiduciary are disputed by unhappy interested persons – oftentimes family members – that the lay fiduciary then seeks an attorney for guidance on what has already happened. Oftentimes that comes too late because much damage has already occurred.
It is wise, therefore, is to involve a qualified attorney at the very outset when the fiduciary relationship is being contemplated and not to proceed with do-it yourself preprinted legal forms.
A qualified attorney can properly advise the client and then draft the scope of the fiduciary's duties, the fiduciary's powers and any appropriate exceptions to the prohibition against conflicts of interest (self dealing).
Later, when the fiduciary's duties commence – which in an estate planning context is upon the sooner of the incapacity or death of the principal – the fiduciary should then promptly seek the guidance of a qualified attorney and other professionals as needed.
Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at
NASA's Cassini spacecraft, in orbit around Saturn since 2004, is about to begin the final chapter of its remarkable story.
On Wednesday, April 26, the spacecraft will make the first in a series of dives through the 1,500-mile-wide gap between Saturn and its rings as part of the mission’s grand finale.
"No spacecraft has ever gone through the unique region that we'll attempt to boldly cross 22 times," said Thomas Zurbuchen, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "What we learn from Cassini’s daring final orbits will further our understanding of how giant planets, and planetary systems everywhere, form and evolve. This is truly discovery in action to the very end."
During its time at Saturn, Cassini has made numerous dramatic discoveries, including a global ocean that showed indications of hydrothermal activity within the icy moon Enceladus, and liquid methane seas on its moon Titan.
Now 20 years since launching from Earth, and after 13 years orbiting the ringed planet, Cassini is running low on fuel.
In 2010, NASA decided to end the mission with a purposeful plunge into Saturn this year in order to protect and preserve the planet's moons for future exploration – especially the potentially habitable Enceladus.
But the beginning of the end for Cassini is, in many ways, like a whole new mission. Using expertise gained over the mission's many years, Cassini engineers designed a flight plan that will maximize the scientific value of sending the spacecraft toward its fateful plunge into the planet on Sept. 15.
As it ticks off its terminal orbits during the next five months, the mission will rack up an impressive list of scientific achievements.
"This planned conclusion for Cassini's journey was far and away the preferred choice for the mission's scientists," said Linda Spilker, Cassini project scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California. "Cassini will make some of its most extraordinary observations at the end of its long life."
The mission team hopes to gain powerful insights into the planet's internal structure and the origins of the rings, obtain the first-ever sampling of Saturn's atmosphere and particles coming from the main rings, and capture the closest-ever views of Saturn's clouds and inner rings.
The team currently is making final checks on the list of commands the robotic probe will follow to carry out its science observations, called a sequence, as it begins the finale. That sequence is scheduled to be uploaded to the spacecraft on Tuesday, April 11.
Cassini will transition to its grand finale orbits, with a last close flyby of Saturn's giant moon Titan, on Saturday, April 22.
As it has many times over the course of the mission, Titan's gravity will bend Cassini's flight path. Cassini's orbit then will shrink so that instead of making its closest approach to Saturn just outside the rings, it will begin passing between the planet and the inner edge of its rings.
"Based on our best models, we expect the gap to be clear of particles large enough to damage the spacecraft. But we're also being cautious by using our large antenna as a shield on the first pass, as we determine whether it's safe to expose the science instruments to that environment on future passes," said Earl Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL. "Certainly there are some unknowns, but that's one of the reasons we're doing this kind of daring exploration at the end of the mission."
In mid-September, following a distant encounter with Titan, the spacecraft's path will be bent so that it dives into the planet.
When Cassini makes its final plunge into Saturn's atmosphere on Sept. 15, it will send data from several instruments – most notably, data on the atmosphere's composition – until its signal is lost.
"Cassini's grand finale is so much more than a final plunge," said Spilker. "It's a thrilling final chapter for our intrepid spacecraft, and so scientifically rich that it was the clear and obvious choice for how to end the mission."
MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – Middletown Art Center, or MAC, is pleased to present kAz Winery and Smiling Dogs Ranch for the second in the 2017 series of Palette to Palate – an intimate pairing of wine and art.
Join them on Saturday, April 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Enjoy the wine tastings of Richard Kasmier, the kAz of kAz Winery and Scott Simkover of Smiling Dogs Ranch for MAC’s newest exhibit "A Labor of Love."
Your $10 cover fee provides wine tastings from both wineries. Additional glasses of wine will be available for $5 per glass.
Enjoy a great experience sipping wine, viewing art, enjoying light refreshments, and be immersed in the labors of love from our winemakers and participating artists.
Palette to Palate is a new series recognizing that wine makers and artists share the same creative impulse.
A vine is planted and nurtured, a concept composed; harvest and crush, forms blocked in; varietals are blended and seasoned, col ors and textures stroked onto canvas; through creative alchemy a uniquely flavorful elixir, or work of art, comes into being.
kAz Winery is a very small, family owned Winery located in Lakeport. It produces a number of varietals and blends using Lake County grown grapes. All of the kAz wines and ports are sulfite free.
He began his winemaking career in Sonoma and moved to Lake County in 2015. kAz and his wife Sandi, an artist, both love wine and art.
Smiling Dogs Ranch, located in Kelseyville, is the love of Scott Simkover. Smiling Dogs’ growing fields are located in the shadows of Mount Konocti. Scott’s Smiling Dogs wines are not only consumer friendly but they are produced and generated by 100-percent renewable solar /wind energy.
Palette to Palate helps to support educational and community programs at MAC, a nonprofit dedicated to creating art opportunities, art education, cultural enrichment, and ecological awareness contributing to the social and economic well-being of Lake County. All donations to MAC are tax deductible.
MAC is located at 21456 State Highway 175 at the junction of Highway 29 in the heart of Middletown.
Visit www.middletownartcenter.org to learn more about exhibitions, classes, events, volunteer opportunities and membership.
John ‘Jack’ Leonard Prete
April 10, 1940 - April 01, 2017
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Beloved by all, Jack was a kind, delightful and generous man. His enthusiastic love of life and adventure was endless.
Everywhere he went, he made your day better. His smile, humor and joy touched our hearts. He loved to travel, play new golf courses, and always on the quest for the best meatball sandwich and pizza in any town while stopping at every cowboy landmark along the way.
We hope there is a golf course in heaven, Dad. Memories of you will always be in our lives. We love you.
Jack is survived by his five children, Deborah, Diane (Ron), Suzanne (Dennis), Kenny (Jessie) and Beth (Ron); six grandchildren; and Charlie (the cat).
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
This week, Reps. Mike Thompson (CA-05) and Pete King (NY-02) led 167 bipartisan Members of Congress in calling on appropriators to provide funds to strengthen our criminal background check system.
Thompson and King requested funding to implement the National Instant Background Checks Systems (NICS) Improvement Amendments Act, which gives grants to states seeking to upgrade their electronic databases.
“The safety of Americans relies on keeping guns out of the hands of people who should not have them – and we do that by making sure their names are in our background check system,” said Thompson. “Studies have shown there are huge backlogs of names still waiting to be entered into NICS. These people are criminals and domestic abusers whom the law has found should not have a gun – but they may still be able to get one if they can pass a background check. We must make sure states have the resources needed to keep our background check system current.”
“When background checks are used, they keep guns out of the hands of people we all agree shouldn’t have guns. It is estimated that four out of ten gun buyers do not go through a background check when purchasing a firearm – meaning those with criminal records can easily bypass the system. As government officials it is our responsibility to protect our citizens, and when it comes to gun violence we must do more. I will continue to push for action and support efforts to reduce gun violence which includes keeping our background databases current,” said King.
Background checks have prevented more than 2.4 million gun sales since they began in 1994, keeping firearms out of the hands of felons, fugitives, the dangerously mentally ill, and domestic abusers.
Unfortunately, NICS – the database used to determine whether a prospective buyer is eligible to purchase a gun – is missing information. Because of this, people who otherwise should not be able to pass a background check can slip through the cracks and buy a firearm.
The full text of Thompson and King’s letter can be found here: https://mikethompson.house.gov/sites/mikethompson.house.gov/files/NICS_FY18.pdf .
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The senior centers in Lakeport and Kelseyville have released their menus for the week of April 9 through 14.
The centers serve lunch from 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, with Lakeport also serving breakfast on the second Sunday of the month from 8 to 11 a.m.
This week's menu – which is subject to changes or substitutions – is as follows:
• Sunday: Breakfast in Lakeport, 8 to 11 a.m.
• Monday: Barbecue chicken with roasted potatoes.
• Tuesday: Jambalaya with sausage, red rice and shrimp with Cajun seasonings.
• Wednesday: Beef tips and sautéed onions with mushrooms in a brown sauce over mashed potatoes.
• Thursday: Smothered chicken burrito with rice and beans topped with red sauce and sour cream.
• Friday: Beef soft taco with Spanish rice.
The weekday luncheons include soup of the day, salad bar, entrée, dessert and beverage. Non-seniors pay $6 and seniors 60 and older pay a suggested donation of $5.
Soup of the day and salad bar – which includes two to three types of salads plus toppings and fruit – is $4.
The Kelseyville Senior Center is located at 5245 Third St., telephone 707-279-2175.
The Lakeport Senior Activity Center is located at 527 Konocti Ave., 707-263-4218.