“A fiduciary is someone who has undertaken to act for and on behalf of another in a particular matter in circumstances which give rise to a relationship of trust and confidence.”
A fiduciary is a person who holds a legal or ethical trust with one or more individuals (or parties). As your fiduciary, the IKOR Suncoast Advocates team will take the responsibility of making medical and or financial decisions on a client’s behalf when they lack the capacity to do this themselves. When this is the case, our client is at their most vulnerable and they vest their confidence, trust and faith in our team of medical, legal and financial professionals to help, advise and protect their best interests.
The only way to be a true fiduciary is to act at all times for the sole benefit of our client. The interests and wishes of our client are paramount and for this reason, we use substantive judgement when making decisions on their behalf. We are able to do this as the IKOR team spends time getting to know each of our clients. At the beginning of our relationship, we complete a Life Management Advocacy Plan (LMAP). We use the LMAP to understand our individual client’s needs by looking at their medical, environmental, social, psychological needs. We also ask detailed questions about their end of life plans as we are often the ones who will need to ensure their wishes are followed to the letter. An LMAP is reviewed annually and can be updated at any time.
As a fiduciary, our role is to give our client the highest standard of care. We ensure that we make each decision by giving each individual the respect and dignity they deserve. We often have the burden of making end of life decisions – we do not take these responsibilities lightly and ensure we are in full possession of all the facts before we sit down as a team and discuss the options as if the individual was physically with us taking part in the discussion. We are able to perform our duties if we are a designated Power of Attorney (Financial) and/or Health Care Surrogate. A client should also have a fully executed Living Will. IKOR do not need to be the primary in these documents and this is something that can be discussed with our client and their attorney/advisors. By having these documents, we are able to save our clients from being under guardianship in Florida.