In California, most of our Trust laws, the laws that apply to Trustees, to Trust Administration, and to the distribution of assets to Beneficiaries, can be found in the California Probate Code. You can find the California Probate Code by going online and searching Google for California Probate Code. One of the websites you’ll find is […]
There are two different types of lawsuits that Trustees have to worry about. One is a lawsuit from an outside party. That’s the type of lawsuit that can potentially be filed against anyone. For example, if a real estate transaction goes bad, someone may want to sue the Trust and the Trustee. With that type […]
Who is qualified to act as Trustee? As a basic requirement, a Trustee must be an adult over the age of 18. Additionally, a Trustee must have legal capacity, so obviously a person who is mentally incapacitated would not be able to act as Trustee. Beyond that, almost any adult can be named as a […]
It sounds like a relatively easy question. At least in my mind it does. But the answer is a bit more complicated. An Estate can mean a lot of different things. People often think that their Estate is all of the assets they own. And that is one appropriate use of the word “estate”. Probate […]
There’s a significant difference between Estate Litigation Attorneys and Estate Planning Attorneys. Obviously, by definition, one type of attorney handles estate planning and the other type litigates over the enforcement of those plans. For example, if your parents want to create a Trust, Will, and Durable Powers of Attorney, they’re going to visit with an […]
There can be no worse job in the world of estate planning than being a Trustee. It may “sound good” to be in charge of a Trust, but most people have little idea of the duties, responsibilities and potential pitfalls they are undertaking when agreeing to be a Trustee. What is a Trust Document? First, […]
How do you protect your parent’s assets from bad people? That can be harder than you think. If your parent has a Trust and you are named as the successor Trustee, then helping your parent may be possible. But most Trusts allow the Trust creator—your parent—to act as Trustee so long as they have the […]
Can I get my inheritance early? That depends…on how nice you are to your parents. Generally speaking, the only way to obtain your inheritance early is for a parent to give that to you before they pass. But there are times when a parent dies and their assets are held in Trust to benefit a […]
What constitutes trust assets after someone dies? A Trust only controls assets that are held in the name of the Trustee. In other words, a Trust does not necessarily control every asset owned by the decedent. For example, let’s say your mom and dad owned a home, a bank account with $200,000 on deposit, and […]
Trustees occupy the office of Trustee. As Trustee, they must pay all debts of the Trust. More than that, Trustees often also have an obligation to pay debts of a decedent even if the debt is not officially against the Trust. Things like credit card bills taken out in a decedent’s individual name may still […]
