Teaching at CSUFullerton

Ms. Peters has taught 2 ON-LINE + 2 IN-PERSON classes for CAL STATE UNIVERSITY @ FULLERTON for the FIDUCIARY MANAGEMENT CERTIFICATE the California training program for students to become a California Licensed Professional Fiduciary (CLPF), to serve as Trustee, Conservator, Guardian, Trustee, Health Care Agent, Attorney-In-Fact pursuant to a Power Of Attorney, Agent, and/or Authorized Payees.   See http://extension.fullerton.edu/ProfessionalDevelopment/Certificates/FiduciaryCal

1) ON-LINE

CONSERVATORSHIP CERTIFICATE
“CONSERVATORSHIP OF PROTECTED PERSONS”:

2) ON-LINE

ADVANCED CERTIFICATE
“PRACTICE MANAGEMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARIES”:

Identify Standard Operating Principals (SOP) for business accounts, audits and financial statements, budgets, contracts, bonding, business ethics; assessing risk and avoiding unnecessary risks; insurance policies and coverages for liability, life, health, and disability insurance; safety issues; Labor Code issues for hiring and firing caregivers; Workman’s Compensation; dealing successfully with governmental agencies regarding Social Security, Medicare, SSI, Medi-Cal and DMV regulations; conflict and dispute resolution; and business software for professional fiduciaries.

Modelling this course after the Attorney rules for Law Office Management, Mrs. Peters shared lessons from the Law Office Management (LOM) material that earlier was mandatory MCLE education required of all Attorneys.

Attorneys are Fiduciaries to their Clients, and so face similar business management and caseload issues. Attorneys and Professional Fiduciaries are on the same page in the standards and practices of their respective businesses, acting in service of others ahead of self.

3) IN PERSON 1-day @ CSUF

INTRODUCTORY
“A DAY IN THE LIFE of a CONSERVATOR” with Prof. Fiduciary Daniel G. Stubbs:
What can happen? How much can you plan ahead?
Can you live with 24/7 Duties? How?

4) IN PERSON 1-day @ CSUF

ADVANCED
“BEYOND MEDICARE: HEALTH INSURANCE & MEDI-CAL”

For details about CSUF’s programs for the Certificate, see http://extension.fullerton.edu/ProfessionalDevelopment/Certificates/FiduciaryCal State University at Fullerton offers training for Professional Fiduciaries, to learn the rules of fiduciary conduct, record-keeping and service in the ways required by our Courts for care of the beneficial interests of protected entities (Conservatees, Trust Beneficiaries, and the heirs and creditors of a probate Estate).

CSUF offers two (2) basic Certificates, one for Conservators and one for Trustees. Each can be obtained by participation in the on-line classes.

For the Conservatorship Certificate, Attorney Peters wrote the mandatory class “CONSERVATORSHIP OF PROTECTED PERSON”.  Teaching on-line enables students to participate in the on-line Discussion Boards at any time, day or night.
Mrs. Peters often played ‘devil’s advocate’ to expose issues from all sides, the better to understand, identify and apply the Fiduciary’s Duty of Undivided Loyalty. Which rule should be followed?  The Substituted Judgment standard (able to communicate) or the Best Interest standard (unable to communicate and no prior plan)? Students can find their own Fiduciary Voice when dealing with caregiving issues, as supervisors of Caregivers and designers of the Care Plan, when the life and death issues are addressed and planned.
Once the issues are identified and known, then the rules and procedures can be identified and used appropriately to address and resolve early caregiving issues, and before the more urgent unplanned End-Of-Life (EOL) care challenges arise.
On occasion, persons with firm opinions are seen to change their mind(s), prompted by the statements and probings of the discussions.
The primary goal is to teach the material.
A secondary goal of the instructor is to teach students to disagree without becoming disagreeable: to model free and open discourse and debate, so that students can learn how to participate with each other, hold their ground, persuade, cajole, and still remain civil.
Serving as a Fiduciary requires tact and understanding, far beyond “Fixing Others”.

CSUF also offers additional classes for CLPFs who are already licensed. Attorney Peters taught the “PRACTICE MANAGEMENT FOR THE PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARY” advance course on-line.

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HISTORY: Effective 1/1/09 the Professional Fiduciaries Bureau of the California Dept. of Consumer Affairs has been the sole licensing authority.

In November 2005, a series of LA Times newspaper articles sparked legislative review of the Conservatorship process and services system.  In 2006 Omnibus legislation (4 bills together) was intended to protect California’s elderly and disabled residents. These laws were inconsistent internally with each other, so that corrective legislation was proposed and passed.

After 7/1/2008, ONLY a Professional Fiduciary then registered with the Attorney General’s Dept of Justice could be appointed by the Court.

After 1/1/09, ONLY a Professional Fiduciary then licensed by the PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARIES BUREAU % the Dept. of Consumer Affairs could be appointed by the Court.   For licensing verification now, see http://www.fiduciary.ca.gov/ .

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Ms. Peters served with 24 other people on the California “Working Group” to make recommendations for the PROFESSIONAL FIDUCIARY BUREAU for the initial ETHICS and EDUCATION requirements for LICENSING.

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