Posted on April 17, 2024 in Estate Planning

Estate planning can help to provide insight into how you want your estate to be distributed and managed after your passing. Most estate plans exhaustively cover tangible assets such as real estate. However, a digital estate, which comprises online accounts, digital assets and intellectual property, is often overlooked when it comes to estate planning.

Neglecting to address digital assets can lead to various complications and challenges for your loved ones after your passing. As a result, the following are four reasons why you should not neglect digital estate planning in California.

Digital asset protection

Without a clear plan in place, valuable online accounts, digital currencies and intellectual property could be lost or inaccessible to your beneficiaries. Cryptocurrencies, for example are often stored in digital wallets, and without proper documentation, access to these assets can be virtually impossible. Social media accounts, email accounts and digital files may also contain sensitive information or sentimental value, making it essential to have a strategy for their management and distribution.

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 Posted on April 04, 2024 in Estate Planning

There are numerous estate planning documents that can be utilized, but most estate plans start with a will. In California, a will has to be created by someone of sound mind, over the age of 18 and the will must also be in writing.

What are the key functions of a will? Here are two things to consider.

1. Managing your assets

The key function of a will is to leave instructions behind on how your assets should be divided upon your death. The people or entities that inherit from your will are called beneficiaries. As your will goes through probate, it will be up to the executor of the estate to manage this. Your executor should be a trusted individual who will act in the best interests of the beneficiaries and according to your instructions.

The assets that can be written in your will include:

• Money
• Real estate
• Vehicles
• Jewelry
• Art and collectibles
• Family heirlooms

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 Posted on March 20, 2024 in Estate Planning

Losing a loved one can be devastating. You may not have the capacity to deal with other matters. While this is understandable, it's crucial to be alert once your loved one's will goes to probate.

The estate's executor will inform you that they have filed a petition for probate and that you were named as a beneficiary.

Here are four things to keep in mind when this happens:

You can request a copy of the will

As a named beneficiary, you may be entitled to receive a copy of the will. Thus, you can request the executor to send it to you. Once you have the copy, review it thoroughly.

You have a right to information

Beneficiaries should be adequately informed about an estate and the probate process. The executor is required to provide you with such information.

You can remove the executor

If you believe the executor is not performing their duties as required, perhaps they don't communicate with you or are mishandling funds, you should raise your concerns. Communicate with the other beneficiaries to determine the most suitable way to raise the matter with the executor.

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 Posted on March 11, 2024 in Estate Planning

Managing the digital footprint of a deceased loved one has become an increasingly common part of estate administration. A digital estate can encompass a wide array of online assets, including social media accounts, digital photographs, emails, online banking accounts and more.

The first step in the administration of a digital estate is identifying all of the deceased's digital assets. This can be a daunting task, especially without prior knowledge of the deceased's online presence. It involves gathering access to computers, smartphones and other digital devices, as well as locating usernames and passwords for online accounts. Creating an inventory of these assets is important for efficient management and distribution of all relevant matters.

Now what?

Once digital assets have been identified, they need to be successfully accessed and managed. Accessing a deceased person's digital assets is not always straightforward. Different online platforms have varying policies regarding account access after a user's death. For instance, some social media platforms allow the conversion of the account into a memorial page, while others may provide options for account deletion or content download after presenting the required documentation. It's important to review the terms of service for each digital platform and understand the rights and limitations set forth for accessing and managing these accounts.

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 Posted on February 23, 2024 in Estate Planning

When life takes unexpected turns, such as divorce and remarriage, it's crucial to reassess various aspects of your life, including your estate plan. Your estate plan should be a comprehensive document outlining how your assets will be distributed upon passing and should be kept current to reflect major life changes.

Significant life changes like divorce and remarriage may result in profound implications for your estate plan. Suppose you've not reviewed and updated your estate plan after remarrying. In that case, exploring compelling reasons why updating your estate plan in such circumstances can encourage you to make necessary updates.

Protecting your assets

Divorce often entails the division of assets accumulated during the marriage. As a result, your estate plan needs to reflect these changes to help ensure your assets are distributed according to your current wishes. Without updating your estate plan, you can unintentionally leave assets to a former spouse or exclude new beneficiaries, such as children, from a subsequent marriage. By revising your estate plan, you can safeguard your assets and help ensure they are distributed in line with your current intentions.

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 Posted on February 14, 2024 in Estate Planning

There are a lot of features that you can include in an estate plan. Your will helps instruct how your assets are handled after you pass away. You can name an executor responsible for distributing assets and settling your estate. You can also include a child guardian who could take custody of your children if you meet a sudden passing.

While most of those things focus on what would happen to your estate after you pass away, you can also focus on what would happen to you while you're still alive. In other words, you may consider naming a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a representative who acts on your behalf if you're incapacitated. You may be incapacitated if you develop a medical disease or mental illness or suffer from a traumatic injury in which you were alive but unresponsive or unable to care for your daily needs. A power of attorney could be there for you during this time.

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 Posted on February 01, 2024 in Estate And Probate Administration

Estate planning largely involves setting up legal documents that provide instructions on how your assets should be distributed upon your death. These documents don't do all of the work, though. You'll need to designate key people, such as an executor, to carry out your instructions.

The role of executor is very important. What exactly does an executor do?

Notify relevant parties of your death

Upon your death, the executor of your estate will need to inform a number of parties. For instance, they will need to inform banks, government agencies and creditors. The executor will also have to locate a copy of your will and send it to the probate court. Probate isn't always necessary, but the court will still need to check the authenticity of the estate plan documents.

Maintain property

If your estate contains a house or other real estate, it will fall on the executor to ensure that it is maintained until it can be sold or passed on to beneficiaries. The executor is also responsible for keeping other items safe, such as jewelry, vehicles and even sentimental items that are set to be inherited.

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 Posted on January 16, 2024 in Estate And Trust Litigation

It's a stressful time when a loved one passes away. Unfortunately, this can be heightened by disputes over inheritance.

Disputes over inheritance happen when interested parties disagree with how the estate is set to be distributed. What are some of the most common sources of inheritance disputes?

When people are left out

An estate plan must accurately reflect the wishes of the creator. These wishes are carried out in practical terms by drafting suitable legal documents such as a will and trusts. In some cases, a testator may choose to disinherit someone from their will. This may be legally permitted, but that doesn't mean it will go down well with the affected parties. They may lodge a legal claim once they find out they have been disinherited.

The act of leaving someone out of a will is not always deliberate. Perhaps the deceased had not updated their estate plan for several years. As a result, their new partner and children may have been left out of the will.

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 Posted on January 02, 2024 in Estate Planning

Estate planning can be a very complicated process. People need to consider a variety of important details, including the value of their resources and the state of their relationships. Testators in California generally aspire to leave as much of their property for specific beneficiaries as possible.

To do so, they typically need to minimize certain liabilities. Taxes are one such concern. Estate taxes are potentially a major concern for those with sizable estates. There are few options for limiting estate taxes during the probate process. Advance planning is typically necessary to reduce the tax burden on an estate after someone dies.

When would someone in California need to plan to minimize estate tax obligations?

When they have millions of dollars in property

There are both state and federal taxes that can apply to an estate. The personal representative of the estate may need to file income tax returns on behalf of the decedent and the estate itself. They may also need to allocate funds to cover estate taxes based on the value of assets the decedent directly owned when they died.

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 Posted on December 17, 2023 in Estate Planning

If your parents make an estate plan, it is going to distribute the assets that they own. This happens after they pass away when tangible assets – such as cars, homes, businesses and personal possessions – and financial assets get distributed between the beneficiaries.

However, people often pass away with debt, as well. They may have outstanding bills for cable television services, gas and electric services or credit card purchases. They may owe money for property taxes or income taxes. In some cases, these debts are very minor and can be taken care of easily, but they could also be significant. As a child who is inheriting from your parents, are you also responsible for paying off their debts?

The estate pays the debt

You are not responsible for these debts unless you cosigned on a loan or took on the obligation in some other official fashion. But just because your parents have debt doesn't mean that it moves down to the next generation.

That also doesn't mean that the debt does not need to get paid. It is intended to be paid out of the estate. This is one of the jobs carried out by the estate executor.

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