Frequently asked questions

A person who acts as a conservator or guardian for two or more persons, at the same time. They can not be related to each other by blood, adoption, marriage or registered domestic partnership.
It also includes a person who acts as a trustee—agent under a durable power of attorney for health care or agent under a durable power of attorney for finances—for more than three individuals at the same time.
You can learn more about what a professional fiduciary is by reviewing the California legislation.

The Professional Fiduciaries Act signed into law in California mandates that all professional fiduciaries be licensed. There are however, certain professions that are exempt. You can review full licensing requirements by reviewing the California legislation.

Yes. As part of the criteria to apply for licensure with California, individuals must obtain 30 hours of prelicensing education from an approved provider. Cal State Fullerton is approved by the California Professional Fiduciaries Bureau as an educational provider.

No. The California Professional Fiduciaries Bureau requires that individuals complete a minimum of 30 hours of pre-licensing education, which is the equivalent of two courses. Students do not need to take the entire certificate program to qualify for licensure.

Completing the entire certificate program provides licensing candidates with enhanced credibility that will improve your marketability and employability once you wish to enter the profession. It demonstrates that you have successfully completed a course of study and have taken beyond the minimum number of pre-licensing education hours. In addition, it better prepares students to take the CA state licensing exam.

The courses fill up quickly and early registration is highly recommended. Registration for spring opens in November, summer registration opens in March and fall registration opens in July. Please contact eipconnect@fullerton.edu for exact dates.

There are two ways to register:

• Online
• By phone at (657) 278-2611

The program is open to anyone. However, to be eligible for a certificate upon completion of the program, you must submit proof of one of the following to Program Support at fiduciary@fullerton.edu:

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited university; OR
• at least 60 semester units of college level work; OR
• at least five years of experience working in fiduciary management or geriatric care

*The California State University, Fullerton, University Extended Education (UEE) does not guarantee that students who meet the eligibility requirements for the Professional Fiduciary Management certificate program are eligible to take the state licensing exam. It is the student’s responsibility to perform due diligence and review the licensing requirements listed in Section 6530-6541 of the California Business and Professions Code. Out-of-state students taking the courses may be subject to different requirements.

If you do not meet the eligibility requirements you may still enroll in the courses, however, you will not be eligible to receive a certificate.

If a class is closed you may contact Student Services at (657) 278-2611 and request to be added to the waitlist. The waitlist does not guarantee you will be enrolled in the class.

We make every attempt to offer each course in the program at least once every semester, however, the schedule may vary. Check out the Professional Fiduciary Management page for the most updated schedule.

No, we do not allow concurrent enrollment for this program. We do our best to ensure students are successful in the program and we make every attempt to stagger the courses.

Yes, you need to complete the prerequisite course, however, you can enroll in multiple courses pending a passing grade in the prerequisite course. Also, the prerequisite course start date must precede the start date of the subsequent courses.

Once you have completed the Standards and Practices course you can take Trust Administration, Accounting and Record Keeping, and/or Conservatorship of Protected Persons. Once you have completed Standards and Practices and Trust Administration, you can take Management of the Investment Portfolio. Once students have fulfilled the appropriate prerequisites, there is no specific order they need to take Accounting and Record Keeping, Conservatorship of Protected Persons, and Management of the Investment Portfolio.
*Please note, students have reported the following three courses listed below to be among the most challenging of the courses in the program. If you have little or no background in investment management and court accounting, we recommend taking these courses when you can commit the time needed to tackle these topic areas.

• Accounting and Record Keeping for Positions of Trust
• Conservatorship of Protected Persons and Advanced Health Care Directives
• Management of the Investment Portfolio

We normally have two cohorts of students each term. The first cohort enters the program at the beginning of the term and the second cohort enters the program in the middle of the term. Class start dates that are scheduled before the prerequisite courses are intended for the students who began the program in the previous term.
If you have completed a course from a higher education institution with the course equivalent, there is a possibility you can enroll in the class. You must email Program Support at fiduciary@fullerton.edu with a transcript and syllabus from that course prior to registering. Please note, determining the course equivalent can take several weeks for approval.

Once you have completed the first course, “Standards and Practices”, you can take:

• Trust Administration
• Accounting and Record Keeping
• and/or Conservatorship of Protected Persons

Once you have completed “Standards and Practices” and “Trust Administration”, you can take:

• Management of the Investment Portfolio

Once students have fulfilled the appropriate prerequisites, there is no specific order they need to take “Accounting and Record Keeping”; “Conservatorship of Protected Persons”; and/or “Management of the Investment Portfolio”.
*Please note, students have reported the following three courses listed below to be among the most challenging of the courses in the program. If you have little or no background in investment management and court accounting, we recommend taking these courses when you can commit the time needed to tackle these topic areas: “Accounting and Record Keeping for Positions of Trust”; “Conservatorship of Protected Persons and Advanced Health Care Directives”; and “Management of the Investment Portfolio”.

Possibly, if you have completed a course from a higher education institution with the course equivalent and provide our support staff at fiduciary@fullerton.edu with a transcript and syllabus from that course prior to registering. Please note, determining the course equivalent can take several weeks for approval.

Court accounting is very different from regular accounting and many students with a strong accounting background find the course demanding. If you have experience with court accounting, please email our support staff at fiduciary@fullerton.edu with your resume. Your information will be forwarded to the instructor for their review; this process could take several weeks for review.

Yes, all of the Fiduciary courses are offered online. This format provides flexibility for the working professional as well as long distance students.

Use the following checklist to see if online learning is right for you:

1. Are you self motivated?
   Online distance learning is self-directed learning. It requires a high level of responsibility, dedication and self-discipline on the part of the student. During the courses, students are expected to achieve the course objectives and are graded on achievement not effort. You are responsible for your own work, your own progress and your own grade. In order to succeed, you need to log into the course regularly to access course content and participate in discussions.
2. Are you familiar with the Internet and written communication?
   You will do the bulk of your class work online. Most of your communication with your instructor and classmates will be through email/written communication. Through conscientious writing in emails, discussion board, etc., you will establish a camaraderie with your cohort (the students going through the program with you). Your written communication skills will be polished through these exercises.
3. Does your computer equipment and software need updating?
   Check our list of Technical Recommendations to see if you have what is needed to be successful.

It is highly recommended that all new students who have not taken an online course at the University and are not familiar with TITANium (your online classroom) review the online tutorial. It is also highly recommended that students taking the Accounting and Record Keeping for Positions of Trust have a basic knowledge of Microsoft Excel including formulas and functions, navigation and views and formatting.

Upon the start of your course, each week the instructor will release a module containing course readings, video lectures, discussion board topics, quizzes, assignments, etc. for you to read and complete within that week. You are expected to go through the materials and complete all the activities within the time window the instructor has allocated and log in to your course at least once a week. The online course will have approximately three to five hours worth of content and activities per week that you will be responsible for.

To apply for the licensing exam, click here to review the Center for Guardianship Certification CA Professional Fiduciary Licensing Exam How to Apply PDF. Also, click here to review the CGC California Examination Handbook.

To request an affidavit, please go to Cal State Fullerton’s Professional Fiduciary Management website and click on "Request Your Affidavit" and fill in the information. The request will take between 1-2 weeks to complete. Cal State Fullerton will send the completed affidavit directly to the CGC and cc the student.

You can review the CA exam core competencies to help prepare for the exam.