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The executor of a British estate was recently caught transferring the deceased’s car, worth about $1,240, to his own stepdaughter for the private use of her and her boyfriend. The fraud became public knowledge when the couple broke up and the boyfriend subsequently told his friends, who in turn informed the executor’s employers, a local law firm. John Patson, the executor in question, received a suspended four-month jail sentence from a local magistrate in the English town of Ipswich.

This odd little tale may lead you to ask what will happen to your car after you’re gone. The California Department of Motor Vehicles regulates all automobile transfers and sales in the state and there are specific procedures for probate and non-probate transfers following an owner’s death.

Transfers Without Probate

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If you’re an author, musician, painter or anyone who engages in creative activity for profit, then your California estate planning should include disposition of any intellectual property rights attached to your works. While most copyrights, patents and trademarks are governed by federal law, they remain intangible personal property subject to the jurisdiction of California probate. Therefore, it’s important to understand the scope of your intellectual property rights and how they can affect the value of your estate.

Distinguishing Copyrights, Patents, Trademarks & Publicity Rights

Copyrights are the most common form of intellectual property recognized in the United States. For most works created on or after January 1, 1978, copyright exists from the moment of creation and lasts until 70 years after the author’s death. So if a person dies in 2013, any post-1978 copyrights she holds as author will not expire until 2083. It is not necessary to formally register a copyright, but doing so creates a public record that can be helpful if there is subsequent litigation. All copyrights are registered with the United States Copyright Office, a department of the Library of Congress.

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A revocable living trust is a common estate planning device where a person, called a settlor, transfers his or her assets to a trustee, usually themselves. The settlor can amend or revoke the trust at any point during his or her lifetime. At the settlor’s death, a designated successor trustee distributes the trust’s assets as directed.

Unlike a last will and testament, which only deals with the disposition of assets after death, a living trust may operate for years, even decades, while the settlor is still alive. If another person serves as trustee during the settlor’s lifetime, there is a fiduciary relationship similar to that of an attorney and client. But what about the relationship between a trustee and the future beneficiaries of the trust? The California Supreme Court recently had to address that issue in a long-running dispute among the family of the late William Giraldin.

Can Beneficiaries Sue a Trustee for Misconduct?

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Traditionally, California estate planning addresses distribution of real and tangible personal property. But in the Internet age, intangible personal assets such as social media accounts are an essential part of many estates. Google, Facebook and Twitter may all contain personal data that you might want to dispose of in a particular manner after your death. Media companies have implemented different policies to deal with deceased users, and it’s critical to understand these protocols as part of your own “digital” estate planning.

Google

Mountain View-based Google is one of the world’s most popular online service providers. Millions of people use Google Mail, the Google + social network and the storage service Google Drive. Recently, Google announced the addition of an “Inactive Account Manager” feature that allows a user to give the company specific instructions on how to handle any personal data stored on the company’s servers.

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Divorce entails not only dividing a couple’s assets but undoing potentially complex estate planning entered into during the marriage. In the case of trusts, where asset titles are legally transferred to trustees, things can get even more complicated. That’s why it’s important to work with an experienced San Diego estate planning attorney to revise your will, trust and other documents as part of the divorce process.

A recent decision by a California Court of Appeals panel in San Jose demonstrates the problems that may arise from a divorce where the couple previously created a revocable living trust as part of their estate planning. Please note, this decision is only applicable to the parties in the case and will not be considered binding precedent in future cases. The description provided here is purely for informational purposes.

Dividing Trusts During a Divorce

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Most people see a last will and testament simply as a vehicle for distributing their property after they are gone. But a properly drafted will must also address the more technical details of the probate process. For instance, who will pay for the expenses incurred in administering your estate? Even relatively simple matters must deal with certain basic expenses, including attorney’s fees, payment of a probate referee for any required appraisals, filing fees with the probate court and preparation of tax returns. If you have any enforceable debts at the time of your death, the estate must find a way to pay those as well.

The Importance of the Residuary Estate

A last will and testament generally distributes property in two ways. The first is through a specific bequest naming the property and beneficiary, e.g. “I give my jewelry to my daughter, Mary Smith.” The other is through your residuary estate. As the name implies, this is the “residue” or leftover property that is not distributed through specific bequests. In theory, you could use one form of distribution exclusively. You could make specific bequests of all property and leave no residuary estate, or, vice-versa, make no specific bequests and leave everything to the residuary estate.

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It’s an unfortunate reality that death often results in litigation. If a person dies as the result of injuries caused by others, that person’s estate may seek restitution in the courts. There may also be litigation over debts owed to the deceased. The possibility of postmortem litigation is just one factor that should inform your choice of an executor and the need for an experienced California probate lawyer to advise the estate of its rights and obligations.

Confusion over an estate’s representation can prove especially costly. A recent high-profile decision by a federal judge in Los Angeles offers a cautionary tale. The case involves the Estate of Derek Boogaard, a Canadian hockey player who played for the National Hockey League’s Minnesota Wild and New York Rangers. Boogaard was addicted to prescription narcotics and sleeping pills. In May 2011, he died in his sleep from a combination of these drugs and alcohol.

Boogaard previously signed a four-year contract with the Rangers in 2010. Player contracts are guaranteed for their full term under the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players Association, the union to which Boogaard belonged. Due to Boogaard’s death,

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How much is your estate worth? Most of us don’t contemplate this question on a daily basis. But in California estate planning, determining the “market value” of your assets is critical. When a will is filed, the probate court needs to see an inventory of the assets you’ve left behind and their estimated value at the time of your death.

California has a unique system for appraising probate estates. In almost all cases, the court requires appointment of a probate referee, a person authorized by the State of California to appraise all real and personal property in an estate. All probate referees must pass a licensing exam administered by the California State Controller’s office and complete yearly continuing education requirements. The probate court in each county then appoints probate referees to serve a term of not more than four years.

When an executor opens a new estate, he or she must file a list (or inventory) of the estate’s assets with the probate court. The probate referee then must prepare an appraisal of within a 60-day period for all properties (excluding cash). The estate, not the court, pays the probate referee’s fees, which is 1/10 of 1% of the value of all appraised property. For example, if the probate referee appraises an estate where the only asset is a home valued at $500,000, the estate would owe the referee a fee of $500.

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The political and legal debate over California’s policy towards same-sex marriage reached the Supreme Court on March 26 when the justices heard arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry. This is the first of two cases where the Court may address the federal constitutional rules governing same-sex marriage. The Hollingsworth decision in particular may finally provide some California estate planning guidance for same-sex couples, and their families, trapped in legal limbo.

The Hollingsworth case deals with California Proposition 8, a voter initiative adopted in November 2008 amending the state constitution to define a marriage between and a man and a woman as legally valid. This overturned a May 2008 by the California Supreme Court declaring a statutory ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. After Proposition 8 passed, opponents filed a federal lawsuit seeking its invalidation under the “due process” and “equal protection” clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals agreed with Proposition 8 opponents that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples violated the federal Constitution. However, the appeals court stayed its decision pending a final decision from the Supreme Court, meaning no same-sex marriages may be performed until and unless the justices affirm the Ninth Circuit’s order. The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision in Hollingsworth sometime in late June.

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Charitable giving is a common part of estate planning. In addition to supporting organizations you deem worthwhile, charitable gifts can reduce the taxable value of your estate. Just as charitable gifts are deductible from personal income taxes while you’re alive, similar gifts made after death are deductible from the gross estate subject to federal gift and estate taxes.

The important thing to remember is not all charitable donations qualify as tax-deductible. The Internal Revenue Code recognizes 28 different types of “nonprofit” organizations that do not have to pay any income taxes. Only one of these classifications-known as a 501(c)(3)-

is considered “charitable” whereby a donor may deduct contributions from his or her taxable income or estate.

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