A: A Heggstad petition is a legal maneuver used in California. If a person dies and leaves behind a trust, yet some of their assets weren't properly transferred into the trust before their death, those assets typically would have to go through probate to be...
A: A list will ensure that your assets are easily transferred and that your family will know exactly what you own so nothing falls through the cracks. The following is an example of 10 common items that are included on an asset list: 1. Insurance and Life Insurance...
A: A trust restatement is essentially an amendment of your entire trust that replaces all of the provisions of your original trust with new provisions to meet your current goals. It is a great option if you have an older trust that needs to be updated, if you have...
A: Although every living person should have a will, by itself it unfortunately does absolutely nothing to help keep your kids out of probate. Having said that, just because you only have a will does not automatically mean your estate will be subject to probate. For...
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. Therefore, as soon as possible after the divorce proceedings have been initiated, you should...
A: Yes! Remember, the trust is like a picnic basket that an attorney gives you, and although the attorney will typically transfer business interests and real estate into your trust for you, you will almost always need to personally coordinate with your financial...
A: Yes! Assuming your mother didn't have any other probatable assets, you and your sister can file with the court a Form DE-305 in the County where the land is located to have the property title transferred without probate.
A: You will usually not need to appear at hearings. Most courts in California use a tentative ruling system. This means that in the days before the hearing on a petition, the court will post its intended ruling on the petition. If the tentative ruling is to grant the...
A: You should take title to your new home in the same way that you hold title to your current home - as trustee of your trust. This will ensure that your new home is a trust asset and that it is not at risk of going through probate to be administered after your death....
A: Yes and no. First, let’s clarify the difference between a trust amendment and trust funding. An amendment is when you actually change the terms of the trust itself; this may be removing a particular successor trustee, or adding a new beneficiary, for example....
