Trust & Estate Services

---

Blue Lake knows fiduciaries and their attorneys need accountings for several reasons:

• Active or pending litigation
• To start the 3 year clock for fiduciary liability
• To fulfill the requirements for probate estates
• Annual reporting to beneficiaries
• Conservatorship reporting to the court

We specialize in preparing Trust & Estate accountings that will meet the test of probate court. This means they are prepared in accordance with the Uniform Principal and Income Act portion of the CA Probate Code. Any accountings that do not meet these strict regulations are for informational purposes only. Why do we do this? These are the only types of reports that will be allowed in active litigation. Also, fiduciaries who want to reduce their liability by preparing these reports will want them in this format should litigation be started at a later point. The 3 year clock only starts if the accountings meet these strict regulations. Our accountings are frequently presented to and pass inspection by Bay Area probate courts. 

Blue Lake offers the following tax services for Trusts & Estates:

• Final year decedent Form 1040 tax returns
• Ongoing Form 1040 tax returns for surviving spouses
• Ongoing Trust & Estate Form 1041 tax returns
• Estate Form 706 tax returns 
• Partnership, Corporate and LLC tax returns where the Trust or Estate is the sole or partial owner
• Preparation of K-1's to distribute to beneficiaries

We also offer the following services for attorneys and professional fiduciaries:

• Consulting services for new professionals to guide you through the stages of administering and executing Trust & Estates
• Planning and best practices setup for managing one or more Trusts & Probates
• Monthly bookkeeping for each of the Trusts & Estates you manage
• Business bookkeeping and tax preparation for your legal or fiduciary practice

We're always happy to partner with new attorneys and fiduciaries. Please reach out to us to see how we can help you and your clients.