California Probate Form DE-295 Ex Parte Petition for Final Discharge and Order is a required document to close a probate. It is the last document filed with the Court. Typically it is followed a few months after the final accounting is approved.  Receipts are filed along with the Form DE-295 and the Court clerk approved […]

Probate takes a minimum of 7 months in California. That is, for a full probate or standard probate it takes seven months. It might take longer but it really can’t take less. Here are three key points: 1) START THE PROCESS: It amazes me how long some people wait to start the probate.  There is […]

Lost a good friend today.  Jonathan was only 44 years old.  Lost a battle with a brain tumor.  Of course I talk to clients every day of the week who are dying, who have just lost a loved one or, in the best case, are talking about dying in the distant future. In all my […]

California Probate Form DE-270 Ex Parte Petition for Authority to Sell Securities and Order does exactly what the name implies. It allows the Personal Representative, Administrator, Executor, Guardian or Conservator to sell securities.  In most probates the PR has authority under the Independent Administration of Estates Act so this Court order would NOT be required. […]

In general people should review their estate plan when major life events happen (divorce, marriage, births), assets change drastically, or laws change drastically.  Here are three reasons why NOW is more important than ever to review your estate plan with a qualified estate planning attorney. 1) NOBODY knows what the tax laws are going to […]

The federal gift tax exemption is currently $5,120,000. This means as of today a person can give away $5,120,000 TAX FREE.  The law, as written, will have this sunset December 31, 2012.  That would be the exemption back to $1,000,000. If you have more than $1,000,000 you should talk to your estate planning attorney NOW […]

California Probate Form DE-226 Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Order is the Court order that is issued if the Judge approves a spousal property petition.  It is a Judicial Council Form.  If real property is involved this form should be recorded with the county recorder along with a preliminary change of ownership form.

Transferring, or connecting, ALL assets to a trust is a crucial part of the California estate planning process and this includes CREDIT UNION ACCOUNTS.  Just like bank accounts, stock accounts, bonds, mutual funds, and all other such monetary assets… credit union accounts need to be in your California revocable living trust. Listing the assets on […]

For the overwhelming majority of Californians who set up a revocable living trust there is simply no need to put your car into that trust.  The DMV has simple processes in place to transfer the car after death and without going through the probate process.  Here is a link to that California DMV web page.  Other people […]

California Probate Form DE-221 Spousal or Domestic Partner Property Petition is a great tool to keep in mind when one spouse dies. It allows the surviving spouse to transfer property to them as well confirm their community property interest. This helps to guarantee the step-up in basis for tax purposes as well as clearing title […]