If you want your revocable living trust to be more than a pile of legal papers, you must fund it. Why? Because your successor trustee, who serves if you become incapacitated or die, only has authority to manage assets that are funded into the trust. If you created your trust with the goal of avoiding […]
Will & Trust
Settling a trust costs less than going through probate in California
Wow! It’s So Much Less Expensive to Settle a Trust than to go through Probate in California A fully funded trust, with no issues and no formal accounting, can be settled for less than $1,000 in attorney fees when you die. That’s a huge contrast to the attorney fees to go through probate in California. […]
Should I Name My Second Spouse as My Successor Trustee?
It can be challenging to choose the right individuals to hold the roles of trusted helpers such, as a successor trustee. When you’re married, it’s normal to look to your spouse to take on the role of the primary successor trustee. This means that if you are not able to manage your assets, during any […]
Promises to Change a Will Don’t Count
Promises to update, amend, or revoke a will, or any other estate planning document, don’t count unless the change is actually made according to law. In other words, you have no legal standing to challenge a will based on the deceased’s promise only. Changes to Wills and Other Estate Planning Documents Must be in Writing […]
Prevent Will Contests with a “No Contest” clause
If you fear that a family member may challenge your wishes and file a will contest, have our San Diego estate planning attorney include a “no contest clause” in your will. The no contest clause prevents most potential will contests. While Grace had no legal requirement to include all three of her sons in her […]
Can My Will be Contested?
San Diego Will Contest Lawyer Answers: Can My Will be Contested? Except for in Hollywood, a San Diego will contest lawyer knows that will contests are rare and successful will contests are even rarer. But, if you are concerned that your will may be contested or you feel something is shady about a loved one’s […]
How Do I Make Sure the Creep My Daughter Married Doesn’t Inherit My Money?
Advice on inheritance from a San Diego trust attorney The San Diego trust attorney hears this question, “How do I make sure the creep my daughter married doesn’t inherit my money?” in one form or another all of the time. And, if you’re like most people, you too want to protect your child’s inheritance from […]
Advice from a San Diego Trust Attorney: How Do I Make Sure My Husband Doesn’t Marry Some Tramp and Leave All of My Money to Her Instead of My Kids?
As our San Diego trust attorney knows, almost everyone has this thought once in awhile, “How Do I Make Sure My Husband Doesn’t Marry Some Tramp and Leave All of My Money to Her Instead of My Kids?” And, while most people are thinking of intentional disinheritance when they ask this question, children get unintentionally […]
Why Married Couples Should Still Use the By-Pass Trust
The by-pass trust is the trust that holds the first spouse to die’s assets up to any unused unified credit amount. This year, that amount is $5,000,000. If you’re not familiar with the term, “by-pass,” trust, you may have heard other terms for the same trust: credit shelter trust, B trust, or family trust. Some […]
Keep It Private Like Liz Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor seems to have had good estate planning. She, like many others, seek to avoid probate by using a fully funded revocable trust. One of the main reasons people of all means seek to avoid probate is because it is a public process. Probate is public because your will along with your debts, assets, […]