Trust Accounting -Advice and guidance

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#1
RonH  
Posts:
35
Joined:
4-Aug-2014 2:19pm
Location:
California
Hi All,

Unlike last year when I thought was going to sell my practice, I am still in the game. I was approach by a legal firm in my building yesterday. They want to know if I would like to do some Trust and probate bookkeeping for them. I have not done any Trust or probate work before. Now, my firm does bookkeeping for hand full of clients on Quickbooks, Xero, and MYOB. Here are my questions that I need your advice or guidance:

1. Is their any books you can recommend to me on bookkeeping for Trust and probate. I see some on Amazon but I want to see if anybody could recommend one to me.
2. Do you think this is a business I should get into. Pro/con you might have.
3. Can you charge more for this services than normal bookkeeping? I talked to many accountants and no one seems to want to get into this type of business.
4. If I work under a trust lawyer or probate layer and just do the bookkeeping, would i be under the fiduciary rules?

Thanks for any advice or guidance you can give me.

Ron
 

#2
JAD  
Posts:
4025
Joined:
21-Apr-2014 8:58am
Location:
California
I have been doing the probate accounting for 3 trusts since 2016. It is a different animal. If you are interested in this, it might be a good niche. I think that you are right that not a lot of people want to do it. I don't want to do it, and once the estate distributes, I am not going to do it again.

1. I have the 2016 Fiduciary Accounting Handbook by CEB. I think I paid around $150 for it. It can help get you started. If you PM me your address, I will mail it to you. I've been hanging onto it, hoping someone would want it, rather than send it to recycling.

2. If you like tracking every detailed transaction in Excel in a very specific format, then have at it.

3. Yes. I think that there is some court-accepted fee. I remember hearing that people around here charge $150/hr. I charge my regular fee, as allowed by the trust agreement.

4. No idea, but that reminds me....you might be preparing a statement that triggers peer review and certain CPE requirements.
 


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