San Mateo California Estate Planning Law Blog

One of the estate planning tools California residents can utilize to protect their assets and distribute to the heirs and beneficiaries of one's wishes is a trust. A trust creates a fiduciary relationship between the trustor and the trustee, giving the trustee the right to hold the title to assets or property for a beneficiary's benefit. The beneficiary is the third party.

Trusts have many advantages, such as ensuring assets and property are distributed according to the trustor's wishes, saving time and reducing paperwork, avoiding or reducing taxes and probate and providing legal protection for the assets in the trust. Assets and property in a trust is protected from creditors.

When children are young, California residents take every step possible to ensure their safety, well-being and happiness, such as getting them the best possible education. However, as they grow older and parents continue to provide advice and act as a sounding board, they often forget to create provisions to ensure children and loved ones are taken care of after their own demise. Protecting one's legacy and ensuring beneficiaries inherit what is rightfully theirs is an important aspect of safeguarding a loved one's well-being and is something California residents often neglect to do.

Making end-of-life decisions is not easy, which is why people often postpone having difficult but necessary conversations with their loved ones. Asking questions, such as what happens if I am involved in a car accident, who lives in the house, who will manage my investments and who will take over my business, is essential but reminds one of their mortality, which is why they avoid it. However, without proper estate planning, one's estate can be left in disarray and disputes surrounding a will can tarnish a relationship.

The New Year is bringing some good news to California pet owners going through a divorce by giving them a legal leg to stand on when disputing the pet's ownership in court. Previously, pets had been treated like property in divorce cases, similar to vehicles, and orders had been given to sell pets and divvy up the proceeds between the divorcing couple. But as pet owners very well know, pets are not like property-they are more like children and divorce is stressful for them as well.

The new law will now change the way courts treat pets. Sponsored by a dog owner and state assembly member, the measure allows judges to create shared custody agreement by considering the care of the pet in question. Now judges can take who takes the pet for walks and feeds them into account when making decisions on whom the dog should live with.

Being named a trustee is an honor, but it also comes with many duties, both in the administration of the trust as well as a fiduciary duty towards the trust and trust beneficiaries. If a trustee in California fails to properly execute their duties, it could give rise to trust litigation. Therefore, it is important for beneficiaries to understand what a trustee's role is with regards to the trust, so they can recognize when the trust is being mishandled.

Trustees have numerous duties that they must fulfill on an ongoing basis. If applicable, they must invest trust assets. These investments should be made in a way that preserves trust assets and makes the trust a productive vehicle for the trust beneficiaries. Trustees must also distribute trust assets to the beneficiaries of the trust per the terms of the trust. Depending on the trust, a trustee might need to use his or her good judgement over when to distribute payments to a trust beneficiary. Trustees are responsible for preparing any necessary tax returns. Trustees must keep the trust beneficiaries up-to-date on the health of the trust, providing them with any necessary account statements and tax reports. If the trustees have questions about the trust, it is up to the trustee to resolve them.