The National Platform for Professional Fiduciary Training, Standards, and Practice Development
Education. Professional Standards. Credentialing Development. Community.
Who We Are
The Fiduciary Institute is a national, standards-driven platform that provides structured training, applied tools, professional standards, and community for professional fiduciaries. It serves both aspiring fiduciaries entering the profession and working practitioners seeking to strengthen and formalize their practice.
Professional fiduciaries serve as court-appointed or privately engaged decision-makers for individuals who are unable to manage their own personal, medical, or financial affairs. The profession spans six primary roles - guardian, conservator, trustee, estate administrator, agent under power of attorney, and representative payee - and carries significant legal authority, ethical responsibility, and accountability. Despite this, the profession has historically lacked consistent national standards for training, practice systems, and competency across roles.
The Institute was established to address that gap.
Training and curriculum: The Institute offers a structured professional development pathway. Fiduciary Foundations™ is for professionals exploring the field, Fiduciary Practice™ for building the operational foundation of a fiduciary practice, and Fiduciary Pathways™ for role-specific training across all fiduciary functions. All curricula are built on The Fiduciary Method™, the Institute's proprietary framework for structured, accountable fiduciary practice.
Professional standards: The Institute publishes Standards of Practice, Agency Standards, and a Code of Ethics for professional fiduciary practice, designed to complement and operationalize the obligations established by professional organizations, regulatory authorities, and governing law.
Practice tools: The Fiduciary Toolkit™ provides professional-grade templates, checklists, and workflows aligned with the Institute's training and standards framework, supporting consistent and defensible practice.
Credentialing development: The Certified Fiduciary™ credential is in development, designed to assess integrated competency across fiduciary roles within a unified national framework.
Community: The Fiduciary Community™ provides a professional environment for peer engagement, knowledge exchange, and ongoing development.
Why I Founded
The Fiduciary Institute
I came to professional fiduciary work the way many practitioners do: through responsibility that was human, personal, and deeply real.
My early career was in organizational development and financial services, building systems, leading operations, and helping people make decisions with clarity. Nothing about that path pointed directly to fiduciary work. And yet, the through-line was always there: people needed someone steady. Someone who could think clearly when things were emotional or complex. Someone who could be trusted when families weren't aligned or when a person could no longer advocate for themselves.
That led me into fiduciary work, and once I was in it, I recognized two things immediately.
First, this work is vital. It protects dignity, stability, and the ability for people to live according to their wishes during the most vulnerable periods of their lives.
Second, most fiduciaries are doing this work without the structure, training, or professional support that other professions take for granted. People enter this profession with skill, integrity, and a genuine commitment to the people they serve . But too often, they're left to reinvent systems, piece together information, or learn through trial and error.
The work deserves better. So do the practitioners doing it. And so do the individuals and families placing their trust in us.
That is why I created The Fiduciary Institute: to build the professional infrastructure this field has needed.
Junel Unrein, NCG
Founder, The Fiduciary Institute
Active Professional Fiduciary | National Certified Guardian
About the Founder
Junel Unrein is the founder of The Fiduciary Institute, active professional fiduciary, and National Certified Guardian. She holds an MBA and brings over two decades of experience in organizational development, financial services, and operations management to her fiduciary practice, including leadership roles at major financial institutions. In addition to the National Certified Guardian designation, she is also a Certified Probate Expert and is a certified After Loss Professional through Professionals of After Loss Services (PALS).
Junel is also the founder of True North Fiduciary Services and maintains an active fiduciary caseload through the Oregon Public Guardian program. Keeping current, hands-on practice is a deliberate decision to ensure that the Institute's frameworks, tools, and training remain grounded in the realities of day-to-day fiduciary work.
She also volunteers with the Guardian Conservator Association of Oregon and Oregon WINGS (Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders), contributing to systems and policy work shaping fiduciary practice at the state level.
Our Mission & Vision
Our Mission
To strengthen and professionalize fiduciary practice by equipping practitioners with shared standards, practical tools, and a community of support, so they can exercise sound judgment and ethical stewardship in the decisions that matter most.
Our Vision
A fiduciary profession defined by competence, integrity, and a shared professional identity, where practitioners are supported, trusted, and prepared to make consequential decisions with clarity and accountability.
Explore The Fiduciary Institute
For practitioners and aspiring fiduciaries: Explore the full curriculum and professional development pathway. Program Overview
For allied professionals: Resources, collaboration tools, and speaking engagement information for attorneys, financial advisors, care managers, and other professionals who work alongside fiduciaries. For Allied Professionals
Professional standards: Standards of Practice, Agency Standards, and Code of Ethics published by The Fiduciary Institute. Professional Standards