Professional Advisors can Be Predators: Protect Yourself

Lawyers might name themselves in key capacities e.g. distribution trustee, full trustee, executor.

How do you protect yourself? How long do you know the adviser? Did they suggest themselves or did you ask? How will they get paid and how much? What expertise to they actually have in administering a trust? If they are named executor have they advised you on how to reduce costs?

CPAs have inserted themselves in all sorts of roles and billed fees as CPA, trustee, and more.

Financial advisers, especially with firms of any size, are often prohibited from serving in fiduciary capacity so the risks from that perspective may be lower and the potential problems from those advisers that can serve (or do serve even if prohibited), sales of high commission products that are poor quality or worse, etc.