Services & Fees

Our Services

We offer a wide range of services under this umbrella, any of which may also be provided on behalf of the trusts, conservatorships, or guardianships we serve. Below are some illustrative examples of these types of services.

BANKING, BILL PAYING & DAILY FINANCIAL TASKS

Banking, Bill Paying & Daily Financial Tasks

  • Bill payment, including follow-up with payees when necessary to correct errors.
  • Set up automatic payments.
  • Manage memberships and subscriptions.
  • Banking, including reconciling statements, making bank deposits, and verifying that beneficiary designations are in order.
FINANCIAL ORGANIZATION

Financial Organization

  • Collate financial information for tax preparation and coordinate with CPA/tax preparer.
  • Budget development and monitoring (income statement and balance sheet).
  • Monitor investment accounts and fees; coordinate with financial advisor.
  • Engage professional organizers where appropriate. 
INSURANCE MANAGEMENT

Insurance Management

  • Establish and maintain property, health, life, disability, liability and other applicable insurance.
  • Follow up on claims to ensure complete payment; negotiate discrepancies.
  • Claim submission, explanation of benefits review, and coordination with insurance providers.
  • Arrange appraisals where necessary.
ESTATE ADMINISTRATION

Estate Administration

  • Develop and maintain list of all assets and liabilities.
  • Provide referrals for estate planning (will and trust creation).
  • Maintain payments related to property maintenance; assist with vendor selection where appropriate.
FRAUD PREVENTION

Fraud Prevention

  • Implement credit monitoring.
  • Establish and maintain data security, including multi-factor authentication for online account access.
  • Creditor negotiation where appropriate.
COMMUNICATION & SUPPORT

Communication & Support

  • Generate and provide regular reports as needed.
  • Review, sort, log and manage mail as needed.
  • Maintain family and/or caregiver communication as directed/authorized.
  • Provide referrals to other professionals (legal, tax, investment, other) as needed.

Roles and Responsibilities

The categories above and the list of services shown is not comprehensive. Here is a sampling of some of the specific roles we assume and responsibilities we carry out.

  • Act as Agent under Power Of Attorney.
  • Act as representative payee for Social Security or SSI.
  • Assist with entitlements, such as Medicare or MediCal.
  • Balance checkbooks.
  • Bill payment, including follow-up with payees where necessary to correct errors.
  • Coordinatiion with accountant or tax preparer to ensure they have complete & accurate information (including a review of the return before it is sent to the IRS).
  • Enlist the services of a lawyer when needed/appropriate, or providing a referral.
  • Ensure that two-factor authentication is in place for all online accounts that support it.
  • Establish and maintain working budget (income statement) and balance sheet.
  • Establish and administer home payroll, including proper withholding.
  • Establish online account access.
  • Maintain proper communication with family members and/or involved friends or caregivers.
  • Monitor investment accounts and interact with investment manager.
  • Organize tax information.
  • Prepare checks for clients to sign (where needed or desired).
  • Provide on-demand reports on a regular basis showing cash flow, income/expense, and net worth trend.
  • Reconcile credit card statements.
  • Set up automatic payments.
  • Track and verify medical claims payments.

Our Fees

As a general rule, Daily Money Managers charge by the hour for their service. For an ongoing engagement with stable responsibilities, however, it is often best for both parties to convert to a fixed monthly fee – essentially a subscription – once the basic pattern has been established. The client avoids volatility in billing, and the DMM avoids the time (and associated expense) associated with detailed timekeeping. That monthly fee is, of course, derived from the ongoing hourly commitment and the DMM’s hourly rate. Our standard client agreement provides for conversion to a monthly fee after the first 90 days of service under the agreement.

At Bedrock Fiduciaries, we charge an hourly rate on a sliding scale as a function of (primarily) two things: the level of complexity and the degree of responsibility. If we assume responsibility under a Durable Power of Attorney (significant responsibility) to manage a large estate with staff on payroll, the hourly rate will be higher than if we are acting under a limited engagement letter and handling only the monthly bills for a single household. 

  • We track time in increments of one-tenth (0.1) of an hour, with a minimum charge of 0.1 hours for any given work entry.
  • Costs incurred in the process of carrying out services are billed on a pass-through basis, without markup.
  • Invoices are rendered monthly and due upon receipt, with interest of 1.5% accruing for any invoice that remains unpaid for thirty (30) days.

Bedrock Fiduciaries’ standard hourly rate for Daily Money Management is $165 for client-directed services and $175 for services provided under a Power of Attorney.  Rates are subject to change.