Probate is the legal process instituted in the Probate Court to determine the beneficiaries of a person’s estate and distribute the probate assets to the person’s heirs or beneficiaries. Ancillary probate is an additional probate proceeding that is required in addition to the state where the decedent lived and died…
If you are a client of a lawyer who dies, what happens to your file and the money that you may have in the attorney’s client trust account? Many attorneys keep their client’s original estate planning documents in their fireproof safe at their office. Maybe you are in the middle…
Many trusts created by married couples provide for the splitting of the trust into 2 subtrusts after the death of the first spouse. These types of trusts go by a variety of names: A/B trust, marital exemption trust, by pass trust, or disclaimer trusts. In these types of trusts, the…
In many past blogs, we have emphasized the importance of transferring all assets that are trust assets into the name of your revocable living trust. This is important because if you pass away and there are assets in your estate that were not transferred into your trust, those assets will…
Attorney’s fees for probate in California are set forth in the Probate Code Section 10810. The maximum fees that can be charged by the probate attorney are: 4% of the first $100,000 3% of the next $100,000 2% of the next $800,000 1% of the next $9 million. The value…
If you have a revocable living trust, there may be questions that you have about the funding and operation of your trust. Here are a few frequently asked questions about your trust once it is in place. 1. How do I re-title assets into the name of my trust? If…
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reported how retirement planning is short changing women. The article has a number of interesting points: 1. A survey by MassMutual found that women’s retirement accounts were, on the average, just 2/3 the size of men’s. That is unfortunate because since women…
A probate conservatorship often becomes necessary when an individual cannot take care of himself or handle his own finances. A petition has to be filed in the San Diego Probate Court, usually by a family member, seeking to become a conservator of the person or the estate. The conservator of…
Some people think they do not have enough assets to need estate planning. The truth is even with a small to moderate estate, you may need an estate plan (will or trust) just as much as a wealthy person. An estate plan is a program for the distribution of your…
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that as many as 1/3 of American households have not taken out life insurance personally and are not covered at work. Life insurance can be an important tool in estate planning. There are several ways in which life insurance may play a role in…