Back To School ABCs For Estate Planning
Fall is the season to celebrate Back to School. In celebration of Back to School I would like to introduce the ABCs For Estate Planning. This article is for you if you are in the season of planning your legacy or are in the season of administering an estate following the death of a loved one.
As a licensed California attorney and a legal specialist in estate planning trust and probate law, I am dedicated to guiding my clients through making decisions for their legacy plans and preparing legal documents for them. Legacy planning is not easy because you need to make decisions about who oversees your estate and who your beneficiaries will be. But do not be discouraged, you can hire help to know what documents you need to sign and to put your wishes in writing. I hope this article helps you learn the ABC’s For Estate Planning.
A - Age You must be 18 years old or older to sign legal documents including a Last Will and Testament.
B-Beneficiary A beneficiary is the person who you have designated to inherit from your estate.
C-Creditor Your Executor/Trustee must pay your creditors so a list of current liabilities which include lease contracts, ongoing monthly expenditures and student loan and credit card debt will assist them in fulfilling their role.
D-Disinheritance This means that you have intentionally omitted a legal heir from receiving a gift from your estate. You must have a clear statement in the will/trust that you intend that the legal heir not take under the will/trust.
E- Executor The person you nominate under your Last Will and Testament to be court appointed and manage your probate after you die.
F- Funeral & Burial Instructions The agent under your Healthcare Directive has the power to order internment, cremation, and memorial services. Some people prefer to preplan and/or prepay for their funeral and burial.
G – Gifts You can list specific gifts of personal property for your beneficiaries. The list must be in writing, signed and dated. You can type the gift list, but it must be printed, signed and dated.
H- Heir An heir is an individual who is entitled by law to inherit the estate, usually a spouse or a child of the decedent.
I- Inventory Your Executor/Trustee must inventory your estate which means that they identify what assets you own upon your death. They determine the value of your residence, your vehicle, and your bank accounts.
J- Jurisdiction The superior court has jurisdiction in the county where the decedent died or where the decedent left property.
L-Legacy Love Letters A legacy love letter is a letter of love, faith, hope and gratitude. These heartfelt goodbyes are often found after the passing of a loved one along with the estate plan.
M-Maintenance The Trustee has discretion to make distributions that are appropriate for health, education, maintenance, and support in accordance with the accustomed standard of living of the beneficiary.
N-Notary Most legal documents require a certificate of acknowledgment by a notary public. The notary verifies the identity of the individual who signed the document but not the truthfulness, accuracy, or validity of that document.
O-Organ Donation Your Advance Healthcare Directive allows you to express an intention to donate your bodily organs and tissues following your death. If you have a donor sticker on your driver’s license you will want to make sure that your agent under your Healthcare Directive knows whether you have made a decision to donate all of your organs OR any needed organs. You will also want to direct whether the organs you donate are for Transplant only or whether the organs you donate can also be utilized for Research and Education.
P- Probate Administration The court-supervised proceeding designed to transfer assets from the decedent to the beneficiaries. Administering the estate of a decedent requires collecting the decedent's assets, paying debts and taxes, and distributing property to beneficiaries.
Q- Quasi-community property In California, a married person can devise all of their share of the community and quasi-community property, and of all of their separate property, if any.
R-Retirement Accounts You should name a beneficiary to receive your retirement accounts upon your death. When you name a pay-on-death beneficiary, the retirement account will avoid probate.
S-Statutory Fees Fees established under California law which allow the executor/administrator and the attorney for the executor/administrator to collect a percentage of the gross value of the estate. The statutes define the percentages as follows: 4% of the first $100,000; 3% of the next $100,000; and 2% of the next $800,000.
T- Taxes. In 2024, the first $13,610,000 of an estate is exempt from taxes, up from $12,920,000 in 2023.
U- Update It is recommended that you update your estate plan every five years or if there has been a change in circumstances due to a change in marital status, a change in residence, the death of a spouse, or the birth of a child/grandchild.
V- Vehicles You can register the title of your vehicle in the name of your trust, but it is not required. Upon your death, the DMV requires a 40-day wait and the trustee will complete the declaration form.
W- Writing You must put your estate plan in writing because otherwise California law will decide for you who will be in charge of your estate and who the beneficiaries will be.
X-“X” is a signature by mark When a person signs a document with a mark instead of their name. The mark can be an “X”, a scribble, a stamp, or a thumbprint.
Y-Years Your estate distribution may include an age restriction for your children and/or grandchildren. Depending on the size of the estate, you may direct the executor/trustee to distribute a portion of funds when the beneficiary reaches age 18; 21, 25 years of age or older.
Z-Zealous Advocate Attorneys in California must be zealous advocates which means that they are prepared to do everything reasonable, with their means, to help a client achieve the goals set forth at the outset of representation.
