Posted on June 30, 2023 in Estate Planning

The longstanding adage goes, "With great power comes great responsibility." In the context of estate planning, bestowing power on someone who will decide on your behalf in the event of incapacitation or death entails a pivotal commitment to delivering formalized duties.

By creating a power of attorney as the principal, you authorize a competent adult known as an agent, or an attorney-in-fact, to act on your behalf for crucial matters, like finances and health care. You may opt for willing family members or appoint experts, like lawyers or accountants, for this role. Further, assigning a person who lives near you may be optimal for logistical convenience. Essentially, it must be someone you confidently trust to act in your best interests when you can no longer communicate your wishes.

With so much at stake, is having more than one agent advisable?

Shared power

Although you can have more than one agent, the decision must come out of necessity and not to appease any family member or avoid family feuds. It will help to deliberately weigh the following options first before making any conclusive decision:

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 Posted on June 16, 2023 in Estate Planning

A will generally lets you decide who benefits from your assets after you pass away. This way, it helps reduce conflicts over matters like succession, inheritance and even taxes. But what if you pass on suddenly before you can write a will? This is where intestate succession comes in.

What is intestate succession?

Under California laws, intestate succession occurs when someone dies without a valid will. According to the state's intestate succession rules, the court distributes your assets to your closest living relatives, such as your spouse, children, parents or siblings. For instance, if you have a spouse but no children, your partner will likely inherit all your assets.

Intestate succession laws provide guidelines for specific parent-child relationships; different rules may apply to foster children, stepchildren and others. There are also certain types of assets that intestate succession covers. These matters are often complex, but an attorney and other estate planning professionals may be able to help with understanding them.

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 Posted on May 30, 2023 in Estate And Trust Litigation

Technically, an individual does not have to do anything if assigned as a beneficiary to a trust. However, a beneficiary's inactive participation in the trust's monitoring may put the trust assets at risk of mishandling and improper management. When this happens, it can adversely affect the beneficiary's rights. Fortunately, there are ways you can protect your rights in case of trustee misconduct.

Understand your rights

For a beneficiary to adequately protect their rights to the trust, it is important to understand these rights first. A beneficiary has the right to:

• Monitor the trust assets and the trustee's management activities
• Receive a copy of the trust and accounting information showing gains, losses and expenses
• Enforce the terms of the trust
• Hold the trustee accountable

If the beneficiary properly exercises their rights, it can keep the trustee in check and prevent them from committing any actions harmful to the trust and the beneficiary.

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 Posted on May 23, 2023 in Estate Planning

In the event of your incapacitation or death, you would prefer to have your affairs in order. A comprehensive estate planning process ensures that your wishes regarding seamless management and distribution of your wealth among your rightful survivors are honored. It involves legal arrangements, like writing a will and establishing a trust. Determining if you need a will or a trust is a significant decision that begins with identifying their fundamental differences.

Breaking down the differences

A will is a signed and witnessed legal document that establishes the assets you own and how you want them distributed among your beneficiaries upon your demise. A designated executor conducts your wishes as expressed in the will.

Meanwhile, a trust is a legal instrument you create as a grantor who can transfer assets. Your designated trustee acts like a trust manager legally responsible for executing your wishes on behalf of your beneficiaries. A trust can either be revocable or irrevocable. A revocable trust retains your ownership, allowing you to make changes or cancellations at any time. In an irrevocable trust, you give up your ownership rights because it requires the beneficiaries' permission before any changes.

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 Posted on May 11, 2023 in Estate Planning

Probate is a long and expensive process of transferring a person's property and assets upon death. The probate process would be the default in California unless the deceased took other estate planning measures, such as creating a living trust or establishing joint tenancy. Although a will can explain to the state how to distribute your assets according to your wishes, your will guarantees probate.

Why is the probate process necessary?

When a loved one dies, they leave behind their estate. If they died testate, which is to say with a written will and testament, their will and estate must go through the probate process to determine its legitimacy and completeness. Probate is a court proceeding that accomplishes the following:

• Determines if there is a will and if the will is valid and authentic
• Discovers the surviving beneficiaries and heirs of the estate
• Assesses the value of the deceased's entire estate
• Settles the debt and other financial responsibilities of the deceased

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 Posted on April 27, 2023 in Trusts

When you hear about charitable trusts, you might initially think this tool is about donating to a charitable organization with no returns. But there is more to a charitable trust than you think. A trustor can still benefit, directly or indirectly, from a charitable trust.

Two types

One of the types of charitable trusts is the charitable remainder trust (CRT). With this type, the trustor transfers their assets to the trust and the trustee will manage the trust in a way that generates revenue. This includes selling and reinvesting assets. When the trustor dies or the set period ceases, whichever comes first, the charitable organization receives the remaining assets.

The other kind is charitable lead trust (CLT). With this type of trust, the donor sets an amount and period of donation to the charitable organization before distributing the remaining assets to beneficiaries.

With both types, the contributions may come from the assets or prospective dividends in form of cash or securities.

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 Posted on April 17, 2023 in Estate And Probate Administration

With or without a will, the assets and properties of a deceased individual will undergo probate and estate administration. The difference is that the testator's wishes will take precedence if there is a will. If there is none, the courts will decide on the distribution according to California's intestacy succession laws. For clarity, "intestate" means dying without a will.

Step-by-step process

So, how does the court proceed with the probate and estate administration without a will? There are three crucial steps:

• The probate court will appoint an administrator, called a personal representative, to manage the estate administration process.
• The court will identify the heirs according to classes of heirs under intestacy succession laws.
• The court will identify the estate's distributable assets and decide how to distribute them.

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 Posted on April 03, 2023 in Probate Litigation

Will contests are common when it comes to the probate process. Wills involve immediate families, relatives, beneficiaries and other interested parties, and it is not surprising that there are disagreements regarding the estate property distribution. One dispute that can arise from the process is the questioning of the will's validity.

When to contest a will

The court does not accept will contests just because the contesting individual finds the document's contents unfair. There has to be a justifiable reason for challenging the same, which can include, but is not limited to, the following:

• The testator does not have testamentary capacity: Under the law, individuals of legal age and sound mind can legally create a will. However, if the contesting party believes that the testator was a minor or did not have the mental capacity to understand the act of writing a will and its results, they can challenge the document.

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 Posted on March 17, 2023 in Estate And Trust Litigation

Establishing a trust is one of the ways you can approach estate planning. The owner of the trust is the grantor, and they appoint a trustee. A trustee can be a family member or close friend but consider hiring a professional or an organization with no personal stake in your estate. The trustee you appoint will have complete access to the entire estate in your trust. They will know everything.

Aspects of the trust the trustee should know

When you create a trust, it is a binding legal agreement that details who will manage your estate and how they should manage it. A trustee's fiduciary duty entails them to know the complete answers to these questions:

• Who did the grantor assign as beneficiaries?
• What are the assets and properties in the estate?
• What is the extent of the properties in the trust?
• What is the purpose of the trust?
• Who will inherit what part of the estate?
• When should the trustee distribute the estate?

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 Posted on March 09, 2023 in Estate Planning

Estate planning could involve many steps, such as drawing up power of attorney documents and writing a will. There are other matters that California residents may consider, including designing a trust. The planner could choose a revocable or irrevocable trust. Knowing the difference between the two before making any decisions seems advisable.

Revocable vs. irrevocable trusts

There are benefits to establishing a trust. The grantor could help beneficiaries by establishing a trust that allows assets to transfer to them without going through probate. Additionally, a grantor could have more control over estate management after they pass away. The grantor must decide whether to design a revocable or irrevocable trust.

With a revocable trust, the grantor can make changes or cancel the trust at any point during their lifetime. With an irrevocable trust, changes are only possible if all beneficiaries agree to the alterations. Even then, a judge may have to approve those changes. Be aware that a revocable trust becomes irrevocable upon the grantor's passing. Irrevocable trusts remain irrevocable during the grantor's lifetime and after the person's passing.

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