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: If you forget to name a beneficiary on your retirement account, the assets in the account typically do not avoid probate and may end up being distributed according to your will (if you have one) or based on state intestacy laws if you don’t. In some cases, the...
A: The Revocable “TOD” (“Transfer on Death”) Deed, introduced into law in 2016, was created as a new probate-avoidance strategy available to Californians. Specifically, the Revocable TOD Deed allows individuals to transfer, effective only upon death and outside of...
A: You sure can, but it's not advisable! The worst part of a DIY trust is that by the time problems start sprouting up, there is nothing that can be done to fix them (because they typically aren't discovered until AFTER you're gone). Creating a trust on your own my...
A: Absolutely! Your estate plan gives you the opportunity to communicate to your loved ones how you would like belongings that have special meaning to you handled. Whether it be a family heirloom, a box of albums, or an important personal keepsake, your estate plan...
A: Yes! This is a particularly common scenario when it comes to estate planning attorneys retiring. Many attorneys already have systems and processes in place for this exact situation. A client always has the right to switch attorneys at any time, even if their...
A: You are not legally required to hire an attorney to file for probate and administer an estate, but the probate process can be difficult to navigate without legal advice. There are numerous tasks to complete, notices to provide, court filings, and deadlines. You...
A: The two major types of decisions you will make in your estate are: 1) Who will you nominate to act as fiduciaries in your estate planning documents, and 2) How your assets will be distributed after you pass away You can begin by thinking about whether you have...
A: Yes, trustees in California are entitled to receive reasonable compensation for the work performed to administer the trust. The amount of compensation is typically determined to be 1% of the value of the trust estate annually, or charged hourly at a reasonable...
A: Yes, you must at least make a diligent effort to do so. For example, we send the following message to all of our Successor Trustee clients: "As part of the Trustee’s duty to collect and preserve as many assets as possible on behalf of the Trust, we always recommend...
