Update Your Beneficiary Designations

Want to prevent your assets from going through probate?  Update your beneficiary designations.  This simple preventive measure can save your loved ones from the time-consuming and expensive hassles of probate.  Under California Law, assets which pass by beneficiary designation do not have to be included in your probate estate.
This means that your bank accounts, IRA [...]

Divorced? Want To Take Care Of Your Kids But Not Your Ex?

Problem:  I want to leave everything to my only child when I die, but I am divorced and want to make sure that there is no way that my ex has access to my child’s inheritance.
Solution:  Put your child’s inheritance in a trust for his benefit.  Here’s the deal, if you die and leave everything [...]

Retirement Plan Trusts

Retirement Plan Inheritance Tax Problem
If you have very large balances in your individual retirement accounts (IRA’s) and employer-sponsored retirement plans such as profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457(b) plans or defined benefit plans there could be huge tax consequences if your heirs decide to take a lump sum distribution of their inheritance.  If you [...]

Joint Tenancy to Avoid Probate in California? Don’t Do It

Today’s Preventive Law Tip: If you are considering deeding your property to your child to avoid the cost of probate in California, beware of potential consequences.
Once your child’s name is on the deed, your home becomes an attachable asset to your child’s creditors.  If he/she gets sued or files for bankruptcy, it is an asset [...]

Estate Planning Humor

*Courtesy of Utah Bar Journal

One Major Advantage of Having a Living Trust

One often overlooked advantage of having a Living Trust is incapacity planning.  As you get older or your parents age, there is a greater risk of not being able to handle your own affairs because of physical or mental health issues.  Additionally, there is always the risk of becoming injured in an accident and not [...]

The Necessity of Capacity for POA’s and other Documents

Since Proviso Law Group focuses on preventive law strategies, I wanted to post an example of a problem that could have been avoided just by timing the solution.  One of the most important things to have before drafting any type of document is “Capacity”.  Legally, you must have the right state of mind when executing [...]

Choosing A Trustee For Your Living Trust

One key choice when setting up a living trust as part of your estate plan is the Trustee.  Naming a Trustee for your living trust or any other trust that you establish for the benefit of another is probably the most important step in making sure that your wishes will be carried out completely. The [...]

Property Tax Reassessment on Transfers

A very important issue to consider in your estate plan is the possible increase in property taxes upon transfer of your home to your beneficiaries.  If you’ve owned your home for a long time in CA, your property taxes are probably significantly lower than they would be if the property value were reassessed as of [...]

I’ve Been Named as Trustee in a Living Trust, Now What?

As trustee, you will have fiduciary duties to carry out the terms of the trust.  A fiduciary is a person who is responsible for taking care of something that belongs to someone else.  Under the law, fiduciaries owe legally-enforceable duties to the people on whose behalf they handle property.  In this case, you will owe [...]

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