Orange County Estate Planning

Life Changes that Require an Update to Your Estate Plan

Even if you do not have an estate plan that you’ve created, the State has one for you.  And it’s likely one you won’t like.  It may be time for you to review the plan the State has for you and make more informed, empowered choices for your family.

If you have created an estate plan with a lawyer, or on your own, it may be time for a review and an update.

Estate planning is simply not something you do once, set it, and forget it.  In the same way your life, the law and your assets change, your estate plan must change as well.

Far too many people spend thousands of dollars on a plan, only to have it sit on a shelf getting stale, and then end up leaving their family with a huge mess they thought they had invested time and money to prevent.

Don’t let this be the case for your family.  Your family is worth more than that.

At bare minimum, your plan should be reviewed every three years.  We do recommend that your listing of your assets be updated annually.  You may want to check to make sure you even have an asset inventory included with your plan.  Most plans don’t have this included. 

Unfortunately, most lawyers (and every do it yourself) system overlooks this and there are Billions of dollars in our State Departments of Unclaimed Property as a result.

In addition to the minimum review every three years, your plan needs to also be reviewed in the event of any of these life changes:

• significant changes in the value of your estate;
• changes in your “income level or requirements,” such as retirement;
• an out of state move;
• job changes;
• changes to family situations, such as births, marriages, deaths, and major illnesses;
• changes to business interests;
• significant purchases or payoffs;
• major changes in insurance coverage; and
• the death or major illness of someone named as your executor, trustee, power of attorney, or child guardian.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

5 Reasons Why You Need to Review Your Estate Plan

Creating an estate plan to protect your financial future and that of your family is just the first step in the estate planning process.  Once those documents are executed, you will still need to review your plan annually to ensure it continues to reflect your needs and achieve your goals.  Here are 5 reasons that can trigger the need to review your existing estate plan:

Family changes.  Marriage, divorce, birth, and death are four family changes that should prompt an estate plan review.  If one of your beneficiaries dies, you will need to remove them from your estate plan.  A new child or grandchild means adding beneficiaries.  If your daughter gets a divorce, you will likely want to remove her ex from your estate plan but keep their children in.  These circumstances can also trigger changes to those people designated as guardians, executors, or health care agents.

Health changes.  The state of your own health may dictate changes to your estate plan, especially when it comes to long-term care.  You may want to help a family member who has no other resources for long-term care, or if you yourself suddenly need long-term care, you may need to provide a trustee with new instructions on the kind of care you want - i.e., staying at home with in-home help or paying to live in a senior living facility.

Work changes.  You may suddenly want - or need - to retire, which could necessitate withdrawing from your IRA funds to support yourself instead of contributing more.  If you have a family business, you may want to sell it or convert a sole proprietorship into an LLC or corporation, which could mean a significant change for your estate plan.

Market changes.  If the total value of your estate has fluctuated by more or less than 20 percent, this should prompt an estate plan review.  A significant gain could provide you with assets you may want to gift to children or grandchildren to reduce or remove estate taxes.

Law changes.  Tax law changes all the time, so reviewing your plan at least once a year is the best way to either take advantage of any new changes that could benefit you, or revise your plan so these changes do not adversely impact your estate.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

Don’t Make These Bonehead Estate Planning Mistakes

A bonehead is someone who’s stubborn, thick-skulled, or stupid. You don’t need to be a bonehead, when it comes to estate planning. Work with a qualified estate planning attorney and don’t make these dumb errors.

The Hockessin (DE) Community News reports in a recent article, “The dumbest estate planning moves,” that the misuse of joint ownership is extremely frequent.

You probably know that settling an estate without a will, can be very time consuming and expensive. One way that people try to avoid probate is with property owned jointly with rights of survivorship.

That’s because the joint owner becomes the exclusive owner of that property, when the other owner passes away. This is the case for a bank account or a family home.

Many seniors say their joint owner, usually a son or a daughter, will gladly share the account with their siblings after the parent passes. But will the joint owner then tell their siblings that’s how Mom wanted it?  

More often than we’d like to believe, the result is that the other siblings may get a lot less than Mom wanted—or nothing at all. If the surviving owner does follow through with Mom’s instructions and does truly square up with his brothers and sister, there may be other tax consequences.

That’s because the process of squaring up may be considered a gift for tax purposes.

Also, adding your children to your account can expose your assets to your children’s creditors.  This is particularly bad if your child goes through divorce.

In real estate, there’s a chance the remaining owner will be burdened with a low-cost basis. As a result, she will be hit with capital gains taxes, when later selling the asset. Mom’s effort to simplify things may have actually caused a lifetime of family conflict.

Instead, avoid these troubles with a transfer on death account or the use of a revocable living trust.

Talk with an attorney to get help with the title changes.  However, before the deed change is drafted and recorded, an estate planning attorney will be able to explain the tax consequences and the possible family conflict with those not on the receiving end. You will likely be better off with a properly prepared estate plan.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

Reference: Hockessin (DE) Community News (April 24, 2018) “The dumbest estate planning moves”

Divorcing? Here's What You Should Know About How it May Affect Your Trust

Trusts vary in their structure, funding, and terms, so it’s hard to know how divorce will impact your trust without review.  It’s safe to say, without question, your trust (and really your entire estate plan) should be reviewed during your divorce to prevent unforeseen negative outcomes.  Also, in California, you may be barred from making any changes to your existing trust until the divorce is complete.

The impact of a divorce on your trust can depend on:

The Trust’s Structure

Trusts frequently name the spouse as a trustee and beneficiary.  In divorce, clarify your wishes in regards to these provisions.  Even if you want to keep each other in your financial plans going forward, the trust should be amended appropriately after your divorce is complete, so your intention is clear.

Whether It’s Revocable or Irrevocable

If it’s revocable, changing the terms of the trust is easy, but you may have to wait until after your divorce is final to do it due to “orders” that go into effect when you file for divorce that prevent you from moving assets.  If your trust is irrevocable, it might be necessary to petition the court to change the trustees, and the trust assets themselves may or may not be part of the divorce judgment.

You’re State’s Laws on Community Property

Divorcing parties sometimes attempt to shield assets in trusts to keep them out of the pockets of the soon to be ex.  When done surreptitiously, this could significantly complicate the divorce.  Even when the assets in a trust are separate property, the income from the trust might still be considered for child support and alimony purposes.

Trusts can be affected by divorce, so you should take steps to protect your trust and your intentions.  If you are ready to take that step, meet with us for guidance.

As your estate planning attorney, we can help you navigate your divorce so your assets, including those held in trusts, remain under your direction and control.  Our Estate Planning Strategy Session guides you to protect and preserve what matters most.  Before the session, we’ll send you an Estate Planning Worksheet to complete that will get you thinking about what you own, what’s most important to you, and what you can do to ensure your family is taken care of.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

5 Common Estate Planning Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

While not having any estate plan is the biggest blunder you can make, even those who do create a plan can run into trouble if they don’t understand exactly how estate plans function.

Here are some of the most common mistakes people make with estate planning:

 Not creating a will

While wills aren’t the ultimate estate planning tool, they’re one of the bare minimum requirements.  A will lets you designate who’ll receive your property upon your death, and it also allows you to name specific guardians for your minor children.  Without a will, your property will be distributed based on your state’s intestate laws (which are probably not in alignment with your wishes), and a judge will choose a guardian for your children under 18.  Oh, and then your kids will get whatever you own outright, with no guidance, direction, or intention, as long as they’re over 18. In California, if you have assets that exceed $150,000, and/or minor or special needs children, we recommend a trust in addition to a will to pass your assets on the terms you determine.

Not updating beneficiary designations

Oftentimes, people forget to change their beneficiary designations to match their estate planning desires.  Check with your life insurance company and retirement-account holders to find out who would receive those assets in the event of your death.

If you have a trust, you’ll likely want the trust to the beneficiary.  This does not happen automatically upon creating a trust.  You actually have to make the change.  See the section below for more on funding your trust.

And you never want to name a minor as a beneficiary of your life insurance or retirement accounts, even as the secondary beneficiary.  If they were to inherit these assets, the assets become subject to control of the court until he or she turns 18.

Not funding your trust

Many people assume that simply listing assets in a trust is enough to ensure they’ll be distributed properly.  But this isn’t true.  Some assets—real estate, bank accounts, securities, brokerage accounts—must be “funded” to the trust in order for them to be actually transferred without having to go through court.  Funding involves changing the name on the title of the property or account to list the trust as the owner. 

Unfortunately, most lawyers have been trained to create a trust, but not make sure assets are actually transferred into the trust.  Crazy, right?!?  But we see it all the time.  And of course, when you acquire new assets after your trust is created, you must make sure those assets are also titled into your trust.  However, most lawyers are not trained to make sure this happens either.

Not reviewing documents

Estate plans are not a “one-and-done” deal.  As time passes, your life circumstances change, the laws change, and your assets change.  Given this, you must update your plan to reflect these changes—that is, if you want it to actually work for your loved ones, keeping them out of court and out of conflict.

We recommend reviewing your plan annually to make sure its terms are up to date.  And be sure to immediately update your estate plan following major life events like divorce, births, deaths, and inheritances.  We’ve got built-in processes to make sure this happens—ask us about them.

Moreover, an annual life review can be a beautiful ritual that puts you at ease knowing you’ve got everything handled and updated each year.

Not leaving an inventory of assets
Even if you’ve properly “funded” your assets into your trust, your estate plan won’t be worth much if heirs can’t find your assets.  Indeed, there’s more than $58 billion dollars worth of lost assets in the U.S. coffers right now.  Can you believe that?  And it happens because someone dies or becomes incapacitated but their assets cannot be found.

That’s why we create a detailed inventory of assets, indicating exactly where to find each asset, such as your cemetery plot deed, bank and credit statements, mortgages, securities documents, and safe deposit box/keys.  And don’t forget digital assets like social media accounts and cryptocurrency, along with their passwords and security keys.  We cover all of this in our plans.

Beyond these common errors, there are many additional pitfalls that can impact your estate planning.  As your estate planning attorneys, we’ll guide you through the process, helping you to not only avoid mistakes, but also implement strategies to ensure your true legacy will continue to grow long after you’re gone.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

Texas Court of Appeals Examines Effect of Mediated Family Settlement Agreement on Probate Claims

Judge John M. Bailey of the Court of Appeals of Texas recently wrote the opinion in the Court’s decision in the case of “In the Estate of Mathis,” which involved a dispute arising from mediated family settlement agreement.

Michael Mathis appealed a decision from a contested probate proceeding that was resolved by a mediated family settlement agreement and mutual release. The decedent, Richard E. Mathis, Jr., died in 2014. Appellees Richard V. Mathis and Betty Mathis filed an application to probate a will executed by the decedent. Jody Jent filed an opposition to Appellee's application to probate the 2012 will.

The parties executing the Mediated Family Settlement Agreement and Mutual Release consisted of Appellee, Jent, and Appellant. They executed the family settlement agreement in October 2015. The parties agreed that the 2012 will would be admitted to probate "without opposition in any form by [Jent] or by [Appellant]." The family settlement agreement also set out an agreed disposition of the decedent's estate. The parties agreed in the family settlement agreement to release any and all claims and causes of action between them or involving the decedent "from the beginning of time through the date of the execution of this Agreement."

Pursuant to the family settlement agreement, the trial judge admitted the 2012 will to probate and appointed Appellee as the executor of the decedent's estate.

In March of 2016, Appellant filed a petition claiming that Appellee fraudulently procured the probate of the 2012 will—the same will that was admitted to probate pursuant to the family settlement agreement. He argued that the 2012 will was invalid "because the creation of the Will was the result of a criminal conspiracy, and became fraud, conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud, perjury, fraud on the Court, Theft, passing a fraudulent document to a Government agency and other unnamed crimes."

Appellant also complained about a final report of the estate filed by the Appellee, charging him with numerous crimes, lying to the court and in his deposition, and that he had taken advantage of the decedent. Appellant also alleged several matters occurring in a guardianship proceeding involving the decedent. Appellant alleged that several other individuals conspired with Appellee in committing these acts.

Appellees responded by asserting that his claims had no legal or factual basis because the acts that he alleged, occurred prior to the execution of the family settlement agreement and that all his claims were released in the agreement.

Shortly after this, Appellant declared that he revoked the family settlement agreement "for cause."

The trial court advised Appellant that his attempt to unilaterally rescind the family settlement agreement, simply by filing a notice to rescind it, was invalid. The trial court further advised Appellant that the trial court had entered an order approving the family settlement agreement. The trial court advised the parties that it was going to grant Appellees' motion to dismiss. The trial court warned Appellant that, if he filed future motions, he could be ordered to pay attorney's fees in the future.

On appeal, Appellant claimed that the trial court ignored his motion to remove the executor. He asserts in his first issue that the trial court erred in "not filing" this motion. In presenting this issue, Appellant said the trial court erred in stating that it would not consider various motions he had filed, because they were based on the allegation that the family settlement agreement was not valid.

Judge Bailey noted that all Appellant's issues were related because they all have the same operative fact—that the family settlement agreement precluded Appellant from attempting to remove Appellee as the independent executor or suing Appellees for damages.

Appellees argued that all the alleged facts and alleged misconduct occurred prior to Appellant's execution of the family settlement agreement. They said all his claims had no basis in law, because they were released in the family settlement agreement. The Court of Appeals reviewed Appellant's petition and agreed that the facts alleged in the petition predate the execution of the family settlement agreement.

In his petition, Appellant didn’t seek the revocation of the family settlement agreement, but rather, asked for monetary damages from Appellees. Without a claim asking the trial court to revoke the settlement agreement, Appellant's petition didn’t have a basis in law. Accordingly, the trial court didn’t err in granting Appellees' motion to dismiss.

The resolution of Appellant's fourth issue also settled the other claims, because his attempts to remove Appellee as the independent executor was also precluded by the family settlement agreement. The judgment of the trial court was affirmed in dismissing Appellant's claims.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

Reference: Justia (March 15, 2018) “In the Estate of Mathis”

How Legal Planning Helps Build a Strong Blended Family

Yours, mine and ours … in today’s modern family, it’s oh so common. The blended family is the product of 2nd (or more) marriages, in which one or more of the parties comes with children from a prior marriage. And then, they may even go on to have children together.

If you have or are part of a blended family, it’s important to understand how estate planning could be exactly what you need to keep your family out of conflict and in love, both during life, in the event of incapacity, and when one or more of the senior generation (read: parents) dies.

Let’s begin with an understanding of where potential conflicts could arise when you have a blended family.

If you have children from a prior marriage, and you become incapacitated or die, leaving everything to your new spouse or partner, there is almost certain to be some conflict (whether spoken or not) between your children and new spouse.

Your children may feel unloved, forgotten or resentful.

You may think that this can be avoided by leaving everything to your new spouse or partner, and then on his or her death, to your children. But this too could set up a scenario where your children feel the need to monitor your spouse/partner’s use of your assets, during his or her life. And that may not be what you want.

Conversely, you may have a partner or spouse that you have not planned for, who you would want to inherit some or all of your assets. But, as things stand right now, your entire estate may go to your children from a prior marriage. This could create a reality where your current partner even gets kicked out of the house you share, if something happens to you before your plan is updated.

You can avoid all of this (and even use the estate planning process to build stronger bonds) by having clear planning in place that has been discussed with your children and your new spouse or partner. We facilitate this as part of the planning process for all blended families.

If you are the child of a parent who has remarried or re-partnered, after a divorce or death, of your other parent, you may want to bring these issues to your parent’s attention.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

 

Estate Planning Best Practices Gleaned From Famous Celebrity Deaths

Discussing death can be awkward, and many people would prefer just to ignore estate planning all together. However, ignoring—or even putting off—such planning can be a huge mistake, as these celebrity stories will highlight.

The next time one of your relatives tells you they don’t want to talk about estate planning, share these famous celebrities’ stories to get the conversation started. Such cautionary tales offer first-hand evidence of just how critical it is to engage in estate planning, even if it’s uncomfortable.

The Marley Family Battle
You would think that with millions of dollars in assets—including royalties offering revenue for the indefinite future—at stake, more famous musicians would at least have a will in place. But sadly, you’d be wrong. Legendary stars like Bob Marley, Prince, and Jimi Hendrix failed to write down their wishes on paper at all.

Not having an estate plan can be a nightmare for your surviving family. Indeed, Marley’s heirs are still battling one another in court three decades later. If you do nothing else before you die, at least be courteous enough to your loved one’s to document your wishes and keep them out of court and out of conflict.

 
Paul Walker Died Fast and Furious at Just 40
While Fast and Furious actor Paul Walker was just 40 when he died in a tragic car accident, he had enough forethought to implement some basic estate planning. His will left his $25 million estate to his teenage daughter in a trust and appointed his mother as her legal guardian until 18.

But isn’t 18 far too young for a child to receive an inheritance of any size? Walker would have been far better advised to leave his assets in an ongoing trust, with financial education built in to give his daughter her best shot at a life well lived, even without him in the picture.

Most inheritors, like lottery winners, are not properly educated about what to do after receiving an inheritance, so they often lose their inheritance within just a few years, even when it’s millions.

Indeed, none of us has any clue when we’ll die, only that it will happen, so no matter how young you are or how much money you have—and especially if you have any children—don’t put off estate planning for another day. You truly never know when it’ll be needed.

Heath Ledger Didn’t Update His Estate Planning
Even though actor Heath Ledger created a will shortly after becoming famous, he failed to update it for more than five years. The will left his entire fortune to his parents and sister, so when he died unexpectedly in 2008, his young daughter received nothing, as she hadn’t been added to the will. Fortunately, his parents made sure their granddaughter was provided for, but that might not always be the case.

Creating an estate planning strategy is just the start—be sure to regularly update your documents, especially following births, deaths, divorces, new marriages, acquiring new assets, or retiring. Many estate plans fail because most lawyers don’t have built-in systems for updating your estate plans, but we do—mostly because we don’t want this to happen to your family.

Paul Newman Cut Out His Daughters Too
Though it’s a good idea to regularly update your estate plan, be sure your heirs know exactly what your intentions are when making such updates, or your family might experience significant  shock by not knowing why you did what you did.

The final update to Paul Newman’s will, which was made just a few months before his death in 2008, left his daughters with no ownership or control of Newman’s Own Foundation, his legendary charity associated with the Newman’s Own food brand. Prior versions of Newman’s will— and indeed his own personal assurances to his family—indicated they’d have membership on the foundation’s board following his death.

Instead, the final version of his will left control of the foundation to his business partner Robert Forrester. Some allege that during his final months, when Newman was mentally unstable, he was secretly persuaded to change his estate plan to leave control of the Newman’s Own brand and foundation to Forrester. Newman’s daughters are currently fighting Forrester in court over the rights they believe they’re entitled to receive.

While changes to your estate plan may seem perfectly clear to you, make sure your family is on the same page by clearly communicating your intentions. In fact, if you are making significant changes to your plan, and your children are adults, we often recommend a full family meeting to go over everything with all impacted parties, and we often facilitate such meetings for our clients.

Muhammad Ali Made His Wishes Clear
Boxing great Muhammad Ali wanted multi-day festivities to be held in his honor, including a large festival, an Islamic funeral, and a dazzling public memorial at the KFC headquarters in Louisville, KY. Given such elaborate plans, he worked with his lawyers for years, ensuring his wishes would be properly carried out.

While you probably won’t need a multi-day festivity to celebrate your life, you may have wishes regarding how your life should be memorialized when you pass or how your care should be handled if you’re incapacitated. If you eat a special diet or want certain friends by your side while incapacitated, you have to make these wishes clearly known in writing or they very well might not happen. At the same time, you should spell out exactly how you want your remains cared for and what kind of memorial service, if any, you prefer.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.

Divorcing? Here's What You Should Know About How it May Affect Your Trust

Trusts vary in their structure, funding, and terms, so it’s hard to know how divorce will impact your trust without review. It’s safe to say, without question, your trust (and really your entire estate plan) should be reviewed during your divorce to prevent unforeseen negative outcomes.

The impact of a divorce on your trust can depend on:

The Trust’s Structure

Trusts frequently name the spouse as a trustee and beneficiary. In divorce, clarify your wishes in regards to these provisions. Even if you want to keep each other in your financial plans going forward, the trust should be amended appropriately after your divorce is complete, so your intention is clear.

Whether It’s Revocable or Irrevocable

If it’s revocable, changing the terms of the trust is easy, but you may have to wait until after your divorce is final to do it due to “orders” that go into effect when you file for divorce that prevent you from moving assets. If your trust is irrevocable, it might be necessary to petition the court to change the trustees, and the trust assets themselves may or may not be part of the divorce judgment.

Your State’s Laws on Community Property

Divorcing parties sometimes attempt to shield assets in trusts to keep them out of the pockets of the soon to be ex. When done surreptitiously, this could significantly complicate the divorce. Even when the assets in a trust are separate property, the income from the trust might still be considered for child support and alimony purposes.

Trusts can be affected by divorce, so you should take steps to protect your trust and your intentions. If you are ready to take that step, meet with us for guidance.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter

 

 

Could an Out of Date Will Leave You Facing Eviction?

It’s all too common, but unfortunately the way some lawyers handle their clients’ estate plans create more problems than solutions for future generations.

It’s critical that you understand exactly what will happen after you become incapacitated or when you die, to ensure that the people you love don’t end up cleaning up an estate planning nightmare while also grieving your passing.

Recently in Columbus, Ohio, a mom of four kids is not only grieving the death of her mother, but now also facing eviction from her home.

Here’s how it happened: Grandma signed a will in mid-2015 putting all of her assets in trust for the education of her six grandchildren. She indicated that her local bank should manage those assets for the benefit of the education of those grandchildren. That seems like a great thing to do, right?

Right. Except that then in 2016, Grandma then bought a home for one of her daughters and her daughter’s four children. And she didn’t update her will.

Unfortunately, this oversight is far too common due to the way many lawyers serve their clients. Their estate plans are often just focused on the documents and the one-time transaction, rather than ensuring they work with their clients on an ongoing basis, updating those documents each time life changes or asset changes occur.

So now, the daughter that is living in the house with her four children is being evicted. The bank was tasked with providing for the education of the children, so the bank is now selling the house with the intention of putting the money in trust for their education. Then, when they turn 21, they will get a distribution of whatever is left.

It’s hard to imagine that Grandma would have wanted this outcome for her daughter and four of her grandchildren. But without a clear plan that documents Grandma’s wishes, which could have included her daughter paying rent to the trust account for the benefit of all the grandchildren, the bank is within its right to evict the daughter and the four grandkids.

It’s a sad, sad tale. And one that could have been easily avoided if Grandma’s lawyer had foreseen the potential issues  and supported grandma to update her will.

When is the last time you had your estate plan reviewed? Have you developed a relationship with a trusted lawyer who you feel confident has your back and will make sure that your kids aren’t facing eviction or some other unexpected mess after your incapacity or death? If not, now is the time.

One of the main goals of our law practice is to help families like yours plan for the safe, successful transfer of wealth to the next generation.  Call our office today to schedule a time for us to sit down and talk about your estate plan, where we can identify the best strategies for you and your family to ensure your legacy of love and financial security.  Our office is located in Santa Ana, CA but we serve all of California including Irvine, Orange, Tustin, Newport Beach, and Anaheim.

For more information and articles on estate planning, probate, and trust law, please visit our website and request our free monthly e-newsletter.