Settling a deceased spouse’s estate involves assets and debts belonging to one or both spouses. Debts can be secured (e.g., a mortgage debt), unsecured (e.g., credit card debt), or partially secured and unsecured. In California debts and assets are characterized as community property (jointly owned) or as separate property (separately owned). Generally, a married […]
posted on: April 28, 2022
Read MoreWhen a person acts in a representative capacity as a Trustee of another person’s estate or as the court appointed Personal Representative of a Decedent’s probate estate they become a Fiduciary. A fiduciary needs to obtain an Employer Identification Number (“EIN”) from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”). The EIN is needed by a fiduciary […]
posted on: April 15, 2022
Read MoreTwo years into the 2020 SECURE Act (“SECURE”), the IRS has issued its proposed regulations. These regulations contain important changes to the Required Minimum Distributions (“RMD”) rules for beneficiaries of retirement plans. Distributions received from a retirement plan are taxed as ordinary income. Under SECURE, a plan participant (owner) must receive RMD’s starting April 1 […]
posted on: March 31, 2022
Read MoreLiquidity, in simple terms, is, “the ease with which an asset, or security, can be converted into ready cash without affecting its market price.” Liquidity can become a major issue when a person is considering their estate planning and later on when a decedent’s estate is being administered. Let’s discuss the issues. Why is […]
posted on: March 18, 2022
Read MoreAn attorney owes the duties of competence, communication, confidentiality, loyalty and non-discrimination to a client. These duties require special attention and care by the attorney when representing client with diminished capacity. Recently the California State Bar issued formal Opinion No. 2021-207 (the “Opinion”) to examine four ethics issues when an attorney represents a client with […]
posted on: February 24, 2022
Read MoreBeing married is significant both for a married person’s lifetime estate planning and subsequent administration of the estate at death. Important rights and responsibilities exist between married persons. The capacity (understanding) necessary to be able to marry is low. It is very difficult to invalidate a marriage afterwards. In California, “[t]wo unmarried persons 18 years […]
posted on: February 10, 2022
Read MoreSome assets belong inside of one’s living trust and other assets do not. It is important to know the difference. The primary purposes of a living trust are to avoid probate and to distribute assets according to one’s wishes in the most cost and time effective manner. Assets normally titled inside of one’s living trust […]
posted on: January 29, 2022
Read MoreA person with significant separate property assets and children from a prior marriage(s) may wish to secure their separate property assets when they get remarried to protect themselves and their own children when the marriage ends at death or divorce. California is a community property state. Assets are characterized either as community property , i.e., […]
posted on: January 14, 2022
Read MoreAdministration of a decedent’s estate may involve investment accounts (with stocks and bonds) held in the decedent’s name or trust. The investment accounts may be at a bank or a brokerage. A person administering a probate (i.e., a personal representative) or trust estate (i.e., a successor trustee) will want to (1) obtain information regarding […]
posted on: December 23, 2021
Read MoreA Valid Will Without a valid will a person’s estate passes to their surviving heirs under intestate succession (i.e., “succession without a will”). A valid will can determine who inherits assets in a decedent’s estate, who is the executor of the estate, what powers the executor has over the estate, and more (or less). […]
posted on: December 8, 2021
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