The do it yourself handwritten (“holographic”) will has its place but it does have a multitude of hidden traps for the unwary and so should not be taken as the “go to” approach. I say hidden traps because handwritten wills are written by non attorneys who, for one reason or another, are unable or unwilling […]
posted on: April 10, 2025
Read MoreResidents at Skilled Nursing Facilities (“SNF’s”) are well advised to have a an Advanced Health Care Directive (“AHCD”), with an authorized agent (health care decisionmaker) in place to make decisions regarding medical treatment and placement. However, a SNF still cannot require the execution of an AHCD as a condition to providing services (Probate Code Section […]
posted on: March 28, 2025
Read MoreTypically the settlor of a revocable living trust is also the initial trustee until they either resign or are unable to manage the affairs of the trust due to incapacity or death. While the settlor is alive and competent, however, the settlor of a revocable trust may still direct the trustee’s administration of the settlor’s […]
posted on: February 27, 2025
Read MoreAs a parent ages, or declines in health, he or she may see the need to rely more on their children, typically, to manage their financial, property and legal matters. This includes managing assets titled to the parent’s living trust, assets owned individually by the parent, and the parent’s other financial and legal affairs. Relinquishing […]
posted on: February 13, 2025
Read MoreElectronic records and electronic communications are electronically kept by banks, brokerages, and other institutions to store important customer account information and communications. A person’s interest in such electronic records is called a “digital asset”. California’s “Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act” (“RUFADA”), in Probate Code sections 870 to 884, provides California’s state level […]
posted on: January 31, 2025
Read MoreAn estate (death) tax taxes your estate on the transfer of assets you owned at your death. Most people are not presently concerned about the federal estate tax as the threshold for federal estate tax is a decedent’s estate with a net worth of at or above around the application exclusion amount of 14 million […]
posted on: January 10, 2025
Read MoreUnder California’s new Uniform Directed Trust Act, trusted advisors can be granted control of certain aspects of the trust administration as trust directors. Also, settlors now can allow co-trustees to divide (compartmentalize) the trust administration between themselves such that co-trustees are no longer responsible for each other’s administration. Thus, California now allows the trustee’s duties […]
posted on: December 31, 2024
Read MoreUnder new legislation (AB 2016), for decedents dying after March 31, 2025, the successors in interest to the decedent’s primary residence, if it has an appraised date of death value under $750,000, may use a new special court petition to determine succession to a decedent’s primary residence and so avoid a full-fledged probate administration. Strangely, […]
posted on: December 12, 2024
Read MoreSince January 1, 2024, when the asset test for Medi-Cal was abolished in California (only), many more people now qualify for Medi-Cal. Unless a person receives Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) or intends to leave California, the need to put assets into an irrevocable Special Needs Trust is not relevant to receiving Med-Cal where eligibility is […]
posted on: November 27, 2024
Read MoreAdministering a decedent’s probate estate typically involves selling real and personal property assets to pay debts, taxes, expenses of administration, and to distribute what money remains to the decedent’s beneficiaries. Whether the personal representative – i.e., the executor named in a will and otherwise an administrator — is required to obtain court supervision (e.g., a […]
posted on: November 15, 2024
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