Planning Ahead

questions & answers

Question: When and how to contact a fiduciary.

Answer:

A public fiduciary is a person who serves as a court appointed guardian, conservator, and personal representative when there is no other person or corporation qualified and willing to serve.  They should be contacted as a last resort after reviewing other options. To find out more information on the public fiduciary you can visit the Maricopa County Public Fiduciary web site. In Maricopa County, the public fiduciary phone number is 602-506-5801 and they can be contacted Monday-Friday from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. For Yuma County, the phone number is 928-373-1145 and their hours are Monday-Friday from 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. These are just some of the county public fiduciaries.

The Public Fiduciary services can also be provided by various independent/ private fiduciaries.  An independent/private fiduciary typically offers a blend of estate planning and fiduciary services to their clients and can be contacted at any time for a consultation.

In addition to a public or independent fiduciary, the term fiduciary is used often in the law and has various meanings. Without more information it is difficult to assess what it is you mean by "fiduciary."