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…
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…
As indicated in an article I wrote on May 3, 2016 regarding the withholding of death benefits by insurance companies, there have been some new developments. The insurance industry has had a long standing policy of holding death benefits if they were not contacted by the beneficiary. In other words, the burden was placed on…
Unlike Living Trusts, all Wills must be filed in California. Wills not only identify beneficiaries, but also the assets and property in the estate. It becomes a matter of public record with property and asset values for anyone to see. Scams on the elderly have hit a record $1.7 million in the first quarter of…
If you saw 60 Minutes on CBS Sunday night you had to be astounded by the absolute greed and thievery of life insurance companies. Many of them, mostly all of the large companies, are being sued in a class action for failing to pay death proceeds to deserving beneficiaries. Roughly $7.5 billion have been withheld…
Have you ever heard of a situation in which a son or daughter lost their inheritance in a divorce, lawsuit or creditor claim against their spouse? It happens frequently in community property states like California. Typically, on the death of the surviving parent, a son or daughter will receive his/her inheritance and place it in…
Estate Planning with Minor Children: Mick and Mona have 3 minor children ages 12, 10 and 8. Mick and Mona have been procrastinating about a Family Living Trust and Estate Plan. Mick has a 401k plan valued at $300,000 and a life insurance policy with a $500,000 death benefit designating Mona as his primary beneficiary…
I. Authority for Pet Trusts in California – Probate Code Section 15212 The Code Provision authorizes the following: Funds to benefit the animals; Distribution of funds upon Trust termination; Enforcement of the Trust; Designation of the Trustee; Accounting requirements; Inspection of premises, books, and records; Definition of Animal. II. Essential Trust Provisions Designating responsible Trustee…
1. Golden Rules of Dementia The NAELA Bulletin reported the five golden rules which lowers the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The report was based on a study by Analysis by Age UK which revealed that lifestyle was responsible for 76% of changes in the brain and significant avoidance of the disease could…