California Probate Attorney

Trust Funding es muy importante

John Palley — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:12:31 +0000

It’s getting to the point where a large percentage of my probate Court work is for people that didn’t plan their trusts properly. That is, they failed to properly fund their trust. The key is getting ALL your assets lined up with the trust or with proper death beneficiaries. I say all assets as people forget about things or just fail to plan by saying “it’s small so it doesn’t matter if it’s in the trust.” Actually the small stuff can create the biggest headaches after death. Timeshares, safe deposit boxes, bonds that are sitting in your safe deposit box, and other similar assets create huge problems after death when not planned for before death! Make sure you hire a competent and experienced estate planning attorney so your loved ones don’t end up hiring a probate lawyer after you die!

-John

Estate Planning for Miles and Points

John Palley — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:42:05 +0000

You have worked hard to earn those airline miles, hotel points, credit card awards and the like. Make sure they don’t go POOF when you die! Most awards are transferable at death. Most have forms to be filled out by your loved ones, after death, to avoid a full probate. Some even allow a beneficiary to be named. If you want to make things as easy as possible for your loved ones, and make sure the points don’t get lost, make sure they know what you have!

Talk to me about complete estate plan that includes integrating points, miles and awards into your estate planning!

-John

Estate Planning Basics – Come to the First Meeting Ready

John Palley — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 22:41:29 +0000

I always tell clients they can just bring themselves to the first estate planning meeting. I tell them they probably have all the information I need to know in their heads already. However, if you want to make sure you are ready for that first meeting here are FIVE important things to think about before the first meeting with your California estate planning lawyer.

1) Who will be guardian (and a back up or two) of your kids? That is, physical control and custody of your kids should you die before they turn 18.

2) Who should manage your finances when you can no longer do so? That is, by death or incapacity, when you can’t handle your financial affairs who should step in.

3) Who gets your assets when you die? I am talking about the big stuff like your home, bank accounts, etc….

4) Who gets your personal property when you die?

5) Who will make your medical choices for you when you no longer can do so?

Yes, there are many more but these 5 will get you heading in the right direction!

Make sure you hire a licensed and EXPERIENCED California estate planning attorney to assist you!

-John

Airport Estate Planning

John Palley — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 02:33:55 +0000

I actually have clients stop to see me on the way to the airport! Yes, really. On the way to the airport they stop to sign their new estate plan or amendments to their current estate plan. What if you don’t have time to stop? What if you are at SMF or any other airport in California and want to do your new will RIGHT NOW!? What if you are a hotel and your husband just said to you, “honey, we really should have updated our wills before we left… what if my brother Mark became guardian of our kids!?” Well, grab a piece of paper and a pen and do as follows IN YOUR OWN HANDWRITING. Then date it, sign it, and put it in a safe place!

I, ______________________ [insert your name] write this last will and testament.

I give all my property to my spouse at my death. If they aren’t alive I give it to _________________ .

I nominate ___________________ to be the Executor of my will. If they aren’t available I nominate _______________________ .

I appoint ____________________ to be the guardian of the estate and person for my children. If they aren’t available I appoint __________________ .

Signed:

Dated:

Of course this is a TEMPORARY solution. It works but it’s not ideal. A better solution is to hire a licensed and experienced California estate planning attorney and get a professionally prepared estate plan. Contact me with questions.

-John

Multi-State Probate

John Palley — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:39:44 +0000

I generally say a probate is not the worst thing in the world. However, when it comes to a multi-state probate it can be a real nightmare! It can be something you, or more aptly put your loved ones, would want to avoid! It’s easy to slip into a multi-state probate. The most typical cases I see are where people own property in multiple-states at death. This is often a vacation home in Hawaii, a rental property in Arizona, ranch land in Texas, or other similar properties in addition to the decedent’s main property in California. Of course it can also be the other way around. A person moves from California to retire in Oregon or Arizona and leaves behind their California property as a rental. In all of these instances, if proper estate planning is not done, there will be a multi-state probate or more accurately called a “ancillary probate.”

In an ancillary probate there is a domiciliary state (the home state of the decedent) and a ancillary state (the other state where property is owned). In most instances probate petitions are filed in the probate courts of BOTH STATES! Also, you probably guessed this already, and TWO attorneys. Oh ya, and TWO attorney fees!

This can all be avoided with proper estate planning. If you own property in more than one state you should have a living trust. It should be prepared by a licensed and trained estate planning attorney.

If you have any questions about an ancillary probate you have fallen into let me know. Likewise, if you want to avoid a multi-state probate after death let me know!

-John

How to File a Probate Fast

John Palley — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:52:39 +0000

My motto is “the sooner you start a probate the sooner you finish it.” For most clients this is the appropriate course of action; get it started so you can get it DONE! Most people don’t want to think about the death of a loved one any longer than they have to. Thus the key becomes hiring a competent and EFFICIENT California probate lawyer. I have had a law practice focused on trusts and probate since 1994. I have conducted hundreds of probates from start to finish. By and large I have kept them to the minimum; 7 months!

The key to a fast probate though is not just keeping it to 7 months. It’s starting it fast so that the 7 months can start ticking. In my practice I often have the probate filed the same day I am contacted to start a case. Let me repeat that, SAME DAY! This is not the case in all cases but it often is. I can prepare documents and get them ready to file quickly!

Contact me to put me to the test!

-John

Clearing Title To Timeshares

John Palley — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 00:52:53 +0000

I am contacted frequently by people who need to clear title to a timeshare after death. Typically the timeshare is in mom and/or dad’s name but mom and dad are now deceased. The timeshares are often with Marriott, Wyndham, Starwood, and many other such timeshare companies. They are in often in places like San Diego, Lake Tahoe and Newport Beach. That is, California timeshares!

I offer a special service to clients when a timeshare is the only asset that needs to be cleared after death. That is, when everything else is properly in a trust typically. I will prepare and take care of the small estate paperwork to clear title via California Probate Code 13200. With the new law the timeshare can be worth up to $50,000!

Also, if mom and/or dad are still alive let’s get the timeshare put into a living trust NOW to avoid the hassle after death.

Failure to have a title in a trust can create a lot of problems after death. In fact, in some cases the timeshare is just a liability after death. However, failure to clear title can create an on-going liability for a deceased person’s estate.

The key is plan ahead for your timeshare and all other assets!

Contact me with questions. -John

The Simplest Will

John Palley — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:38:40 +0000

You are running out the door to the airport for an important business trip and realize you want your significant other to receive your other if you die. That is because you are not married and thus they are not your natural bounty in the eyes of the law. You don’t have time to call an attorney. You don’t even have time for an on-line form program. You are stuck. You will not have a will… but wait there is an answer!

A holographic, or handwritten, will is 100% legal in California. Go grab a piece of paper and start writing your wishes! Make it clear it’s intended to be a will. Something like this:

This is my last will and testament.

I revoke all previous wills.

I give all my property, of any kind, to ______________________ .

I name _________________________ as Executor of my will.

Then sign your name and date it.

Then give the original to your significant other or other trusted person. It’s important to not lose the original “wet” ink version so make sure they put it in a safe place.

Is this as good as an attorney drafted will? No, of course not. It is more susceptible to attack but it is a 100% binding legal document and can be probated in California!

Good luck!

-John

Simple “Advanced” Estate Planning

John Palley — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:42:38 +0000

As I stated yesterday some advanced estate planning techniques are over-used in that they are overly complex for a lot of people. In addition they cause recurring costs.

There are two advanced estate planning tools that are under-utilized in my opinion. The two are: 1) The Qualified Personal Residence Trust and 2) The Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust.

I have blogged about both of these before and would love to provide YOU more information but in short the two devices work as follows.

QUALIFIED PERSONAL RESIDENCE TRUST (QPRT) – An irrevocable trust that holds your house. It provides estate tax savings and maybe more importantly it provides creditor protection. It’s simple to set up and not that costly. There are no on-going costs.

IRREVOCABLE LIFE INSURANCE TRUST (ILIT) – An irrevocable trust that holds a life insurance policy for the benefit of your spouse and children (typically). There can be huge tax benefits but even more importantly you can create incredible creditor protection for your loved ones.

Of course you should use a qualified California estate planning lawyer to set up your QPRT or ILIT.

Advanced Estate Planning

John Palley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:27:16 +0000

It is my opinion that some attorneys OVER plan for their clients. Most people with assets need a revocable living trust. That is clear. Along with the California revocable trust they should have all the basic documents like pour-over will, durable power of attorney, advanced health care directive (or “living will”), Hippa release, quitclaim deed (or grant deed), certified extract of trust, and other similar funding documents. The question though is what other documents should be included into higher net-worth clients. It is my opinion that some attorneys over plan and over complicate their client’s lives.

The biggest culprit here is the “family limited partnership.” I love the concept on paper but unless the client is worth at least $5,000,000 I would say there are many less costly estate planning tools to use. FLPs come with annual entity fees to the state, annual accounting requirements and are very expensive to set up due to all the appraisal costs. I thus try to hold FLPs for the right clients.

Next biggest is charitable trusts. Before my friends in the non-profit world get on me let me stress I love clients giving to charity. However, it is my opinion that a CRT is an overly complex way of doing this. Plus, in some cases the charity never gets anything! Instead if you want to give to charity just give to charity. You avoid all the attorney fees and appraisal costs to set up the CRT. Plus, more importantly, you avoid the annual tax filings which can be quite complicated and expensive for the CPA to prepare.

Let’s stop there for the day. I think the above two are the two most over-used planning devices. I should say, over-used in the wrong situations!

In the coming days I will blog about some more efficient advanced estate planning options!

-John