Torrance Trusts and Estates Law Blog

A trust can be a great way to protect assets for loved ones who are set to inherit them. Yet, the effectiveness of a trust is often left in the hands of a trust administrator. This person may be named by the individual who created the trust, or he or she may be appointed by the probate court. Either way, the trust administrator, also called a trustee, carries a heavy responsibility that often comes under close scrutiny.

Trust administrators are considered fiduciaries, meaning that they have a duty to act in the best interests of named beneficiaries. Therefore, in some cases beneficiaries claim that trust administrators fail to properly invest trust assets in a way that further the beneficiary's best interests.

Some people like to say that the relationship between parents and children turns inside out as kids grow up. When infants are born, their parents must dedicate a lot of energy toward keeping them safe and ensuring that they meet all of their needs, from adequate, safe rest to appropriate food.

As parents grow older and their children themselves become parents, the first generation of the family may soon find themselves dependent on their children for the necessities of life. Adults with medical conditions ranging from physical impairments to cognitive decline can find themselves reliant on their children for everything from getting to and from doctors' appointments to feeding themselves.

Building and running a successful business takes time, money, and a whole lot of dedication. For many entrepreneurs, their business is their life's work and their legacy. As such, they really should plan for the future of the business when the time comes that they are no longer around to run it. This often comes up in terms of retirement, but it should also be carefully considered when engaging in estate planning. After all, forgetting to address a business in your estate plan may cause it to be left in the hands of someone is inept in business affairs.

For this reason, it is often wise to engage in some sort of succession planning. Those who are sole proprietors can simply choose who they want to take over the business upon their passing and specify that in a will. Alternatively, the business can be left to a beneficiary in a trust so that regular income can be generated for the beneficiary while affairs are managed by others. In businesses with more than one owner, the matter may require much more attention to detail.

Much of estate planning focuses on how an estate can avoid the probate process. There are many reasons why an individual may want to do this. To start, probate can stall the asset distribution process. It requires the identifying of assets, the settling of debts, and determining how assets should be disbursed amongst heirs and beneficiaries. This process can be costly, too. This can cause heirs and beneficiaries to lose a significant amount of their inheritance's value as court and administration fees are withdrawn.

While a competent estate plan can help some Californians avoid the probate process altogether, there are other ways to minimize the impact probate can have on an estate. For example, California law allows for a simplified probate process when the value of an estate is $150,000 or less. Here, a successor need only follow a few simple steps in order to satisfy the law and ensure a quick transition of assets. To start, a successor needs to wait at least 40 days after the estate planner's death. Then, once that time has passed, the successor must submit an affidavit under penalty of perjury that states some pertinent information, such as the decedent's name, date of death, and a number of facts about the estate, its value, and its management.