MANAGING SOMEONE ELSE'S MONEY, PROTECTING ASSETS & PROTECTING YOURSELF

A common sense list of do's and don'ts when you are handling someone else's money in guardianships, conservatorship, trusts, and estates.

• Do not co-mingle your client's money with your own money.
• Do not borrow money from your client.
• Do not use your client's money to purchase items for yourself or pay your bills.

• Open separate bank accounts for your clients, clearly designating the client as the owner.
• Open separate bank account for each client.
• Avoid using your own money to pay for client's expenses.
• Maintain property records.

• Start with an Inventory. List all funds and liquid assets you take control of. Attach a bank statement, brokerage house statement, or whatever you need to support your starting balances.
• Document all income. Make copies of every check you deposit and staple the deposit receipt to it. Keep award letters from Social Security or private pensions. Keep statements that show any interest earned, or refunds received.
• Prove how you spent the money. Use checks, never cash or credit cards, to pay bills or purchase items for your clients from their own checking account. Keep the cancelled checks or copies of the checks. Keep receipts from every purchase making a note on the receipt if it is not crystal clear what you are purchasing or what is is for. Make sure your client's name is on any bill you pay. If you are deliver purchased items (like clothes or a watch) to an incapicated person, take time to have another person acknowledge in writing that you gave the things to your client.
• Keep all bank statements. Reconcile the bank statements monthly and keep them in a folder or on a spindle in chronological order. This applies to any brokerage account or other types of statements as well.
• Prepare and save invoices for your services. If you are charging a fee for your services as a fiduciary, make sure you have written itemized statements.
• Document the assets on hand. When you prepare an annual account or final account, whether if is for the court or your own internal records, attach statements or other doucments that verify the balances on hand.