Financial Durable Powers of Attorney – We all need well drafted financial powers of attorney for potential incapacity. But your agent and their proclivities should be given prudent thought. A recent case in Tennessee reveals the problems that can arise with Financial Durable Powers of Attorney (DPA). In that case, mom designated her daughter to…
Successor Trustee Successor Trustee – We have had numerous calls by Successor Trustees after a parent/client dies. The Successor Trustee (usually the child) receives a letter from us with a list of documents needed for the initial Trust Administration consultation. I charge $350 for this consultation. It is at this time we get questions from the…
Inherited IRA In light of the recent U.S. Supreme Court case of Clark v. Rameker, creditors will begin to zero in on Inherited IRAs. What is an Inherited IRA? These are IRAs inherited by non-spouse beneficiaries. Typically, spouses rollover IRAs and become the IRA owner if they are designated as the beneficiary. But non-spouse beneficiaries…
Family Care Contracts: Many can agree that the best people to take care of our loved ones are the ones closest to them. More often than not those people are immediate family members, like a child who takes care of a parent, or a family friend. However, when a loved one cares for their family…
In a recent case that reached the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Court ruled that assets in Third-Party Spendthrift Trusts (Family Trusts) are not necessarily protected from creditor claims or federal liens against a designated beneficiary. What does this mean for California estate planning? The beneficiary in question, Michael Harris, had two…
It is rare when I feel that Court action is necessary for estate planning objectives, but this is one instance when I do. Do you recall when the federal estate tax exemption was $600,000 per person? Subsequently, it was raised to $750,000 per person. We were doing a lot of A-B Trusts and dividing real…
1. What are Trust Protector Provisions? Trust Protector Provisions are optional provisions that can be included in your Trust. I created our Trust Protector Provisions in order to prevent a Trustee or Successor Trustee from abusing their powers as Trustee and to mediate beneficiary conflict. The Trust Protector is only involved if called upon to…
Note: Please see my blog posted On August 1, 2016 for original article. President Trump signed an executive order which will ultimately nullify the new regulation which was to go into effect in April. That regulation would have required financial planners to place client’s interests first in recommending products. As a result, the continual policies…
Under California Law, your Living Trust is a private document. Unlike a Will, the Living Trust is not filed and made a public record on your death. No one has a right to see your personal private provisions except for very limited purposes. For example, the Assessor’s Office may require a copy to ensure that…
Effective January 1, 2017 Medi-Cal Recovery (SB 833) For Medi-Cal recipients who die on or after January 1, 2017, there are significant changes in the law. The most significant impacts the limitations on recovery of funds by the state of California after the death of the Medi-Cal recipient. For Estate Planning purposes, the best news…
In a new law to go into effect January 1, 2017, a Living Trust may be utilized to protect assets from Medi-Cal claims for individuals dying after that date. This is a revolutionary law that elevates the advantages of a Living Trust in California to a new high. Previously, a Living Trust provided no protection…
Time and time again we see cases of inadequate powers of attorney which fail to provide sufficient authority to act. These documents usually obtained on-line through legal providers or Trust mills provide generic, basic provisions that can fall short of a client’s needs. The recent case of Metlife Insurance Company v. Sumner is an example….