A: You can choose either option! There may be valid reasons to pick multiple people to act as the trustee, just as there may be valid reasons to only have one person acting at a time. An experienced estate planning attorney can usually advise as to what would make the...
A: It depends! Although the law does give all the trust beneficiaries the right to receive a full accounting, if all of the beneficiaries agree in writing to waive their right, then you will not need to prepare one.
A: No you are not! In California, the creditor’s of a decedent are paid first out of the decedent's remaining assets before any distributions are made to heirs. In other words, although you won't be receiving any inheritance from your mom's estate, you will not have...
A: The three primary duties you will have are the following: (1) the collection, safeguarding and evaluation of the Trust Estate assets; (2) the payment of debts and liabilities of the Trust; and (3) the timely distribution of the remaining Trust assets to the...
A: Although you certainly can, you will want to be thoughtful before doing this. You could inadvertently disinherit one of your children if you decide to sell one of those properties during your life and then fail (or forget) to go back and update your estate planning...
A: After your death, however, your trust will become irrevocable and your successor trustee will need to obtain an EIN in order to file the trust's income tax returns. If you have any questions about this, don't hesitate to reach out or schedule a free consultation...
A: On July 8, 2022, the IRS issued a new procedure that can be used to extend estate tax portability for up to five years after the death of a spouse. Having said that, in order to ensure timeliness and compliance with various tax requirements, we always recommend...
A: Although they both allow someone else to legally act on your behalf, the most important difference is that you get to pick your power of attorney whereas oftentimes the court will choose your conservator (and sometimes without your ability to participate i.e. if...
A: We recommend having her sign a Durable Power of Attorney, HIPAA, and Advance Health Care Directive. If your child is 18, you no longer have any emergency decision making authority should they need urgent help accessing finances or making health care decisions. If...
A: Although probate code section 6122 largely disinherits a former spouse automatically upon entry of a divorce judgment, the same is not true while the divorce is in process. As soon as possible after the divorce proceedings have been initiated, you should update...
