Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Neal.
Matthew, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Six years ago, I didn’t know what a professional fiduciary was. My parents redid their estate plan in November 2020. At that time, with my father’s failing health, I stepped in as co-trustee with my mom to their trust. However, I learned that after both my parents pass away, a professional fiduciary, not one of the seven children, will be in charge of settling my parents’ estate. I continued to help my parents with their finances. My father passed away nine months later and my mother developed dementia. I was in the 16th year of my career as an accountant/CPA when my job informed me they would be making changes and my employment would end. I had enjoyed helping my parents and I thought then was a good time to try a career switch. In summer 2023, I took the necessary education to become a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary and worked towards taking the test. As I started networking, I was approached by my current group, ProFiduciary. ProFiduciary started over 20 years ago and several fiduciaries, currently seven, practice together where we can support one another and share common resources including our support staff.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The most challenging part is getting your name out with attorneys and other professionals to get current work. The pavement pounding is attending a lot of networking events and then often taking the work others turn down. For me, the road has been greatly assisted by joining ProFiduciary. I’ve benefited from the 20 years of reputation the group has and the network the other fiduciaries have established. I did tell my wife that when I started on this journey that I would give it one year and if things didn’t look promising, I would go back to accounting. For about the first year and a half, we did quarterly check ins to make sure that we were on track. I am happy to say that at this point, doesn’t look like I’m going back to accounting.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about ProFiduciary, Inc.?
ProFiduciary, Inc. was started by Thomas Thale over twenty years ago in 2005. Thom came from the bank trust world and after going from one bank to another (trust departments and bank acquisitions make for lots of movement) he decided to form his own group where other fiduciaries could join and thrive. This was all before the profession of licensed professional fiduciary had been established in California which happened in 2009.
At ProFiduciary, the individual fiduciaries specialize in on going trust management, such as special need trusts, and estate settlement. This can include a wide variety of assets including personal residence, investment properties, interest in businesses and other investments. We have much more flexibility than a corporate trust department and a larger support team than a solo practitioner.
ProFiduciary is unique in the professional fiduciary space as many professional fiduciaries practice alone. We are fond of saying that when you get one of us, you get all of us. That can include having several fiduciaries in our office officially serving together as co-trustees at no additional cost, or simply knowing that we can share knowledge and support one another behind the scenes.
Also, additional strengths to our group: One, during business hours you can always reach someone. If for some reason, the main fiduciary is unavailable, another professional in the office can speak to a client and answer questions. Second, we have a strong succession plan should a need arise.
Sadly, Thom Thale passed away in 2018 and we learned from that the need to make sure there is no vacancy in the management of a trust or estate. We recommend that clients name several of our fiduciaries in their documents and we have one staff fiduciaries that are able to jump in. For example, in January, one fiduciary was out on maternity leave when a future client passed away. Another was able to act and it was a seamless transition with no hiccup for the family.
Additionally, we maintain a network of fiduciaries that handle healthcare work, and smaller estates so that we can connect anyone with the right business.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
Our job is to do the right thing for the client no matter what, even if it goes against my own interests. For example, we are approached for new and future cases frequently where we recognize that the client would best be served by someone more local to them. Last week, a relative reached out to us because Thom Thale was listed as the fiduciary. With his passing, there is a vacancy. While I would have appreciated serving, the woman and her property are now in Arizona. I helped the relative locate another fiduciary in that area. I always try to keep in mind how I would want to be treated if I called in looking for help.
Pricing:
- All professional fiduciaries with a website are required to post their fees on that website.
- Our group charges a percentage of the assets that manage.
- For estate settlement, starts at 2% annually on the first $3 million in assets, and declines as assets increase.
- For ongoing trust matters, starts at 1% annually on the first $3 million in assets, and declines as assets increase.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.profiduciary.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/profiduciary-inc/?viewAsMember=true
