I guide trustees and executors through the full estate settlement process, finding what you'd otherwise miss, protecting you from what can go wrong, and keeping your family connected throughout.
Services are paid by the estate. No out of pocket cost to you.
Currently working with trustees, executors, and estate attorneys in California and New York
You've been named to settle a trust or estate and aren't sure where to begin. I'll take the guesswork out of it.
See How I HelpYou have a client who needs more hands-on support than your engagement covers. I pick up where your scope ends.
For Estate AttorneysEstate settlement typically takes 9 to 18 months, and the work is rarely just administrative. Most trustees are doing this for the first time, while grieving, managing family relationships, and still living their normal life. There's a lot of guesswork involved, but there doesn't have to be.
Does this sound like you?
I'm your project manager and partner for the entire settlement process. My work falls into four areas.
A clear plan for the full settlement process, kept on track and communicated to everyone involved, including your family, vendors, and attorney.
Taking the administrative burden of paperwork, phone calls, and fact finding off of your plate, saving you time and headaches.
Sourcing, vetting, and managing the outside help your estate needs. Tap into my network of trusted vendors and avoid predatory costs and probate-adjacent scams.
Often the messiest part of settling an estate. I bring proven systems to get the job done, get beneficiaries the most value out of what's sold, and keep relationships intact.
We start with a free 20-minute call so I can understand your situation before we talk next steps. If it's a fit, most engagements fall into one of the two paid paths below. Either way, the scope of work is always built around your estate and your family, not a fixed package.
Get oriented
A focused working session to triage the estate and map what needs to happen and in what order. You will receive a written action plan with clear, sequenced next steps. A good option if you need clarity upfront but can execute independently from there.
Flat fee, or credited toward Full Service Settlement
Full support
End-to-end project management of the entire settlement process, scoped to your situation. I handle coordination, discovery, vendors, and communication, so you can focus on your family, your life, and honoring the grieving process.
Fee determined by the scope of your engagement
All services are structured to be paid by the estate and classified as estate administration expenses, which means they typically come out of the estate, not your pocket.
My services are distinct from that of a probate attorney, paralegal, CPA, financial advisor, appraiser, or licensed fiduciary. I work alongside your existing professional team as project manager and communication guide.
You already have the most proximity and accountability to your client's family. But every estate carries a long list of work that isn't legal in nature, and it's exactly that work that keeps you and your paralegals from closing files. I take that on, so your clients get positive outcomes, faster.
Sienna is an estate advisor who helps trustees and executors navigate the settlement process after the loss of a loved one. She works with clients to translate estate attorney guidance into a clear action plan that leaves nothing on the table and helps preserve family relationships in the process.
This work requires detail-oriented project management, professional coordination, sharp negotiation, and the ability to keep groups working together when tensions are high. Sienna has spent the last 12 years building these skills as a leader of operations and client-facing teams in startups and Fortune 500 companies. She is also a formally trained mediator.
Sienna was moved to do this work after serving as trustee and executor for her grandmother and step-grandfather's estates. She found the process to be unstructured, chaotic, and surprisingly lonely, and she emerged with a calling to guide others as they navigate this confusing and often painful process. Her goal as an Estate Advisor is to be a partner and an advocate, so that those going through this difficult time are set up for success.
Working with Sienna, trustees and executors gain clarity on their responsibilities and goals, a tailored game plan built around their availability and priorities, the preservation of family relationships and memories, an exhaustive recovery of assets including those that often get overlooked, and, most importantly, the ability to move forward.
Sienna is based in New York City and works with clients remotely and occasionally in person.
Background & Credentials
An estate advisor acts as a project manager and support system for the trustee or executor handling an estate after someone passes away. That includes building and tracking a settlement plan, handling day-to-day administrative work, coordinating vendors, and facilitating family communication, so nothing gets missed and the trustee doesn't have to figure it out alone.
An estate attorney handles the legal side of settling an estate. An estate advisor handles the coordination, administration, vendor management, and family communication that falls outside a legal engagement. Sienna doesn't give legal advice or do paralegal work; she works alongside the estate attorney as part of the trustee's team.
Most clients are first-time trustees or executors managing a trust or estate that has some complexity to it, whether that's multiple properties, several beneficiaries, or family dynamics that need a neutral voice in the room.
No. Services are structured to be paid by the estate and classified as estate administration expenses, so the cost typically comes out of the estate rather than the trustee's own pocket.
Estate settlement typically takes 9 to 18 months from start to finish.
The free 20-minute call is an initial conversation to understand your situation and see if it's a fit, with no cost or commitment. The Orientation Session is a paid, focused working session that produces a written action plan with sequenced next steps, and its fee is credited toward Full Service Settlement if you continue.
Sienna is based in New York City and currently works with trustees, executors, and estate attorneys in California and New York. Work is done remotely, with in-person availability in NYC evenings and weekends.
Yes. An estate attorney handles the legal work, and Sienna takes on the non-legal coordination, administration, and communication work that can otherwise stall a matter or overload a paralegal.
Whether you're a trustee working through this for the first time, or an attorney with a client who needs more support than your engagement covers, feel free to reach out. The first conversation costs nothing.
Not sure where to start, or reaching out on behalf of a client? This call works for either.
Book a Free ConsultationWhat happens on the call
In 20 minutes, we'll talk through where you are in the process, what feels most urgent, who is already involved, and whether I can help. No need to have everything organized before we speak.
Based in New York City
Remote clients welcome
Evenings & weekends available