California Trusts Legal Questions

When you say you "inherited" your mother's house, what do you mean? The answer to your question depends on whether: (1) Your name was also on the property. You just need to file some forms with the county to be sole owner. An attorney can help with that, or you may be able to do it yourself; or (2) Your mother had a trust which named you as a person to inherit the house. You just need to file some forms with the county (more than in #1); most likely you should have an attorney help you with this; (3) Your mother named you to receive the house in her will. You haven't inherited anything until you probate the will. That's a court procedure for which it is highly recommended you hire an attorney; or  (4) You are your mother's only child, and she wasn't married when she died, but there is no will or trust. Again, you have to go to court for  a probate, for which you should hire an attorney. Best of luck.... Read More

If you have real estate or assets totalling $166,250 or more, you will likely need a revocable living trust to avoid expensive and time-consuming probate.  In addition, a durable power of attorney and advance health care directive will allow you to authorize others to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated.  You should speak with an estate planning attorney to discuss your options and to develop an estate plan that meets the needs of you and your family.... Read More

You have to see what time of plan is involved.  Depending on this, you might have to go to court, or might be able to deal directly with the employer.  As to your father's involvement, was he listed as a beneficiary on the plan if your mother were to pass?  Even if not, a question is whether he is entitled to anything since he may have been living with her when she earned the money.  Were they legally separarted?... Read More

As trustee, not executor, you are in control of the trust's assets.  What are the trust assets?  Are there any financial accounts or real property in the trust's name?  If so, you should have no problems accessing the cash by showing the financial institution the trust agreement.  They will let you know what else you need to show them.  As to real property, you should be able to sell it if need be.  Please call to discuss the matter further.... Read More

If you are on any form of public benefits (Medi-Cal or SSI, for example), you had to inform them when the trust was funded. You should get a letter from your brother stating that the trust has run out of money. You would give a copy of that to your social worker at your next re-determination. If you're not on public benefits, then there's no one who needs to do anything when the trust runs out of money.... Read More

This is not an estates question. This is really a landlord-tenant question. In California you were a tenant in the house if you had your belongings there and received your mail there. I suggest you re-post in that section. I believe that you may have given up some rights when you voluntarily left without being evicted, but please, please, check that with someone who does landlord-tenant law. A landlord also has obligations to store a tenant's belongings for a period after they leave.... Read More

Disability is not means-tested. Medi-Cal is means-tested. Being means-tested means that you can't (in most cases) have more than $2,000. I say "in most cases", because there's also MAGI Medi-Cal, which is based only on your income, not your assets. To be cautious, assume your Medi-Cal is means-tested, and get the inheritance out of your bank account ASAP. It costs $2500-3500 for an attorney to draft a special needs trust. Because of that, we hesitate to do a special needs trust for that amount of inheritance. You could do a spend-down: paying for things that wouldn't affect your Medi-Cal. You could upgrade your car, pay for car insurance, pre-pay several months of call phone service and/or cable TV, pay off a credit card if you have one, buy a better bed or recliner. Because you're on disability, not SSI, you could also pre-pay some rent or utilities expenses. If we weren't stuck at home due to Covid, you could even go on a vacation.... Read More

Your attorney should be able to work with you over the phone and via email. Any amendment to a will needs to be witnessed by two people who do not benefit from the will, just as the will was witnessed. So you would need to ask two friends or neighbors to be witnesses. They can watch from six feet or more away as you sign. Then you can go back into your house as each of them comes to, for example, your porch individually and signs in the witness space.... Read More

What you can or should do with your sister's portion of the annuity depends on how much it is. If it's a relatively small amount, you can use her portion for her benefit: buy her clothes, a new recliner, pre-pay for her funeral. If you can do that kind of a spend-down, you would only be over-resource for SSI for one-month. So you sent SSI a check for one month's benefits, and report the receipt of the inheritance and the spend-down. If it's a larger amount, you can work with an attorney to petition the court to allow you, as conservator, to establish a special needs trust to receive the annuity proceeds.... Read More

No one can give you a definite answer without seeing what you signed. In general, if all parties, including the person whose estate plan it is, and the person who is paying, have not signed the documents and no work has begun, you are probably not obligated. But again, that is a general answer without seeing what you signed.... Read More

Erik, Congratulations on having a fully-paid-for home in California (truly a major accomplishment in itself). To obtain a reverse mortgage, you'll need to provide information about the property, how it's held, and by who. To begin the process, your wife's trust and related estate planning documents should be reviewed, to verify proper authority to borrow against the home, that all actions are taken in alignment with her estate plan, and that her plan is updated to reflect changes that may have occurred since her plan was established or last modified. While being in Japan make the process a more stressful, your wife can submit the application along with most supporting documents online, or through an appointed Agent (including yourself) using a limited or general Power of Attorney. This may already exist as part of her estate plan.  On a personal note, my law practice is based in Lake Forest, California, but my wife and I maintain homes in both California and Kyoto. We also spent many years caring for her mother in Japan, who passed away in September 2019 at 97. If you have further questions, or would like further support, please feel free to contact my office.... Read More

Most commonly, parents establish Revocable Living Trusts, in their names, using their own Social Security Numbers. Subject to the terms of the original trusts, continuing irrevocal trusts will likely require EIN numbers, separate accountings, reporting to beneficiaries, their agents, etc., as part of ongoing trust administration. To specifically answer your question, the original trust documents, and actions taken since it was established should be reviewed to determine the history and current status of the estate, With that, you'll be in a much better position to coordiante with tax, accounting, and other professionals to move forward with your process.... Read More

If there's a trust, your sister is the successor trustee, not the executor. She should not be living in the home for free, unless she is given the home in the trust. If the trust doesn't give her the home, she should probably be paying rent, and working to get the house on the market as quickly as possible. You can send her a letter requesting an accounting, and asking when she will put the house up for sale. If that doesn't produce results, you probably need to hire an attorney.... Read More

If you don't receive your distribution by mid-January, you should contact her again. It is a lot of work for a family member trustee to manage the estate, arrange sale of assets, and figure out what future expenses there might be, like taxes. Hopefully she'll come through now that the holidays are over. Even though you could have an attorney contact her, there are repercussions for doing that. You might get your money a little sooner, while damaging the relationship beyond repair.... Read More

Typically, you must file a petition in Probate Court. Before filing, you will want to take a look at the trust document to see if there is any removal provision outside of court. Assuming that you cannot remove outside of court you will want to go through Probate Court with your petition including the reasons for removing the trustee in accordance with California Probate Code Section 15642.... Read More