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Recent Posts in Wills & Trusts Category
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Posted on Apr 28, 2023 By James D. Stephens
In estate planning and inheritance law, some important concepts can change who inherits what from you. Lapse, ademption, and exoneration all relate to the distribution of assets after a person’s ...
Continue reading "What is the difference between lapse, ademption, and abatement? And why should I care?" »
Posted on Feb 1, 2022 By James D. Stephens
A Trust is a legal document that allows you to transfer ownership of your assets to a Trustee, who then holds and manages those assets for the benefit of the Trust’s beneficiaries. One of the ...
Continue reading "How do Trust assets avoid probate court?" »
Posted on Jan 10, 2022 By James D. Stephens
Decanting an irrevocable trust ? California’s trust decanting statute allows for the transfer of trust assets from one trust to another. This process, known as “decanting” (think of ...
Continue reading "What is decanting? Can I decant my irrevocable California Trust?" »
Posted on Jul 27, 2020 By Stephens Law Group
Short answer : No. Long answer : You may create an unfunded Trust for your kids at any time, with or without your spouse's knowledge. Note the word " unfunded ". When a CA resident files ...
Continue reading "I am getting divorced. Can I set up a Trust for my kids without my spouse's knowledge?" »
Posted on Feb 5, 2019 By Stephens Law Group
This common #EstatePlanningMistake is another example of why we encourage our clients to make their passwords accessible (digitally, or on real paper) to the Executor of their Will, or the Trustee of ...
Continue reading "Does This $190 Million Cryptocurrency Mistake Make You Cringe?" »
Posted on Aug 23, 2018 By Stephens Law Group
[7/11/2023 UPDATE] No. According to a Michigan Jury, a handwritten note found in the singer's couch is actually a valid Will. See the AP News article here: ...
Continue reading "Is it true that Aretha Franklin died without a Will?" »
Posted on Oct 27, 2017 By Stephens Law Group
California courts have long grappled with this issue -- when a California senior dies with joint bank account, who does the money belong to? Is it the decedent's estate, or the surviving joint ...
Continue reading "When a CA senior with a joint bank account dies, do the funds belong to the decedent's estate or the co-signer?" »
Posted on May 25, 2016 By Stephens Law Group
In California, probably not. It's fairly common for a person to want to leave an inheritance to someone, "but not if he or she is still married to that monster." A gift conditioned on ...
Continue reading "Can my Will leave a gift to someone on the condition that he or she get divorced?" »
Posted on May 9, 2014 By Stephens Law Group, P.C.
Yes. According to her attorney, Mickey Rooney's widow just filed a contest of her late husband's Will, in the probate department of the Los Angeles Superior Court. The complete story can be ...
Continue reading "Did Mickey Rooney's widow really contest her late husband's Will?" »
Posted on Feb 7, 2014 By Stephens Law Group
Applying for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) or Tax Identification Number (TIN) is a free service offered by the Internal Revenue Service. Beware of websites that charge for this free ...
Continue reading "How can I obtain a Federal Tax ID Number (TIN or EIN) for a Trust?" »
Posted on Jan 31, 2014 By Stephens Law Group
In its most recent ruling about wills and trusts, the California Supreme Court in Donkin v. Donkin (December 26, 2013) ruled that a challenge to a Trust does not trigger the Trust's ...
Continue reading "California Supreme Court determines No-Contest Clause Unenforceable" »
Posted on Jan 17, 2014 By Stephens Law Group
No. Only a decedent's Will may be lodged with the Superior Court ( California Probate Code §8200 ). If you're still alive, the court will reject the document for filing. You're better ...
Continue reading "May I lodge my original Will with the Court for safekeeping?" »
Posted on Jan 3, 2014 By Stephens Law Group
The untimely deaths of some celebrities ( Paul Walker, James Gandolfini and Cory Monteith, to name a few) in 2013 underscore the need to create your estate plan now. So is one of your 2014 resolutions ...
Continue reading "Do your New Year's resolutions include estate planning?" »
Posted on Dec 9, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
If the Trustee of a California Trust fails to send the required Notification by Trustee (also called a California Probate Code §16061.7 Notice ), or fails to properly serve the Notice on its ...
Continue reading "I'm a Trustee? What happens if I don't send a §16061.7 notice?" »
Posted on Dec 6, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
In most cases, California Probate Code §16061.7 requires that the Trustee send the Notification by Trustee within 60 days of the triggering event (usually the death of the Trust's Settlor). The ...
Continue reading "I'm a Trustee. How may days before I have to send the §16061.7 notice?" »
Posted on Dec 4, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
When the Trustee of a Trust is required to send a §16061.7 Notice (also called " Notification by Trustee "), according to California Probate Code §16061.7(g), it must include 5 ...
Continue reading "What information must a §16061.7 notice contain?" »
Posted on Nov 27, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
Under Section 16061.7 of the California Probate Code, certain Trustees are required to send a legal notice to the Trust's beneficiaries and other interested parties. In estate planning law, this is ...
Continue reading "What is a §16061.7 notice?" »
Posted on Nov 19, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
A good question. And the answer is quite simple. As used in estate planning law, the terms " Settlor ", " Trustor " and " Trustmaker " are all interchangeable. They all ...
Continue reading "What's the difference between a Settlor, Trustor, and Trustmaker?" »
Posted on Nov 11, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
A " Pour-over Will " is one that leaves your otherwise probatable assets to your Trust. But rarely will you see the words "Pour" or "Over" in the title of your Pour-Over ...
Continue reading "Is my Will a "Pour-Over" Will?" »
Posted on Nov 1, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
We get this question a lot. And the California State Bar Foundation (one of our favorite providers of free, easy-to-read consumer guides on many legal subjects) does a good job providing the answer: ...
Continue reading "Do I need a Living Trust?" »
Posted on Oct 29, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
Your Trust is a private document. It usually contains confidential information about you, your family, and even the people you're disinheriting. You probably don't want the bank knowing who will ...
Continue reading "Do I have to give a copy of my Trust to the bank?" »
Posted on Oct 21, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
When attorneys talk about "funding a Trust", they're talking about the process of transfering assets to the Trust. A Trust (sometimes called a Family Trust, Living Trust, or Revocable Trust) ...
Continue reading "What does it mean to "fund" a Trust?" »
Posted on Oct 3, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
Okay, pop quiz. Which of the following is the best definition of a "Trust"? A legal entity that holds title to your assets; The fiduciary relationship between a Trustee (legal title) and a ...
Continue reading "What is a Trust?" »
Posted on Oct 1, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
When you think about it, estate planning is the process of making decisions now so that other people don't have to guess what you want done later (at your incapacity or death). A good estate plan, at ...
Continue reading "Do I Need Estate Planning?" »
Posted on Sep 30, 2013 By Stephens Law Group
We get this question a lot. And the California State Bar Foundation (one of our favorite providers of free, easy-to-read consumer guides on many legal subjects) does a good job providing the answer: ...
Continue reading "Do I need a Will?" »
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