Estate Planning & Probate Law Blog

What is Medi-Cal?

Medi-Cal is California’s version of the federal Medicaid program that provides additional health insurance for qualified individuals who are at least 65 years of age, blind, or disabled.  Medi-Cal is often used to assist residents in skilled nursing facilities who have exhausted their Medicare skilled nursing home coverage.  Medicare covers the first 20 days of skilled nursing home coverage, then requires a co-payment of $137.50 per day for days 21 through 100, conditioned on the patient showing improvement in his or her condition.  After 100 days, the patient …(read more)

The Uniform International Wills Act (the “Act”) establishes internationally accepted standards for what constitutes a validly created will.  While states recognize the validity of a will that is executed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the will was executed, as a practical matter, it is sometimes difficult to convince a probate court judge that a will that was executed internationally was properly executed.  The Act is intended to reduce problems associated with proving that a will executed in another country was properly executed, by establishing clear, …(read more)

The Uniform International Wills Act (the “Act”) establishes internationally accepted standards for what constitutes a validly created will.  While states recognize the validity of a will that is executed in accordance with the laws of the jurisdiction in which the will was executed, as a practical matter, it is sometimes difficult to convince a probate court judge that a will that was executed internationally was properly executed.  The Act is intended to reduce problems associated with proving that a will executed in another country was properly executed, by establishing clear, …(read more)

Estate planning for families with young children requires special consideration.  Many young families just starting out have not accumulated enough wealth to provide for their children’s care to an age where the children can be financially independent.  The solution to this problem is life insurance, which can provide the funds to raise your children and prevent them from becoming a financial burden.  Assuming the parents are young and in good health, life insurance is usually affordable and obtainable. The next few blog entries will focus on estate planning when minor …(read more)

In the fourth quarter of 2011, few estate planning practitioners would have predicted that we would still be waiting for clarity from Congress on the fate of the federal estate tax and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, leading to uncertainty as to what the future holds for how to guide higher net-worth clients.

With 2011 just right around the corner, the following taxes will become applicable in 2011:

Federal estate tax will apply to decedents’ estates subject to a $1 million unified credit …(read more)

A conservatorship is a court proceeding where a judge appoints a person or entity (referred to as the “conservator”) to handle the care and/or finances of a person who is determined by the judge to be unable to care for themselves or their finances (this person is referred to as the “conservatee”).  There are two types of conservatorship proceedings in California: 1) conservatorship of the person; and 2) conservatorship of the estate.  In some states, a conservatorship refers to a proceeding concerning a person’s finances or estate only, while a …(read more)

Property taxes are an important but often overlooked consideration in every estate plan or transaction involving the transfer of real property.  California calculates annual property taxes based on a percent of a real property’s assessed value.  Assessors may only increase a property’s assessed value by only 2% per year, unless a “change in ownership” occurs.  Until recently, this has been favorable to property owners as real estate values in California have historically increased more than 2% per year.

The rules regarding what constitutes a “change in ownership” are confusing and complex, …(read more)

The fees and costs associated with the probate administration of an estate vary from state to state.  Some states, such as California, impose a statutory fee schedule for the estate attorney’s fee and the personal representative’s fee.

Probate costs generally fall into the following three categories:

Court costs, including court fees, publication fees, surety bond fees (if required), probate referee fees, certification and recording fees;
The personal representative’s fee (the fee paid to the executor or …(read more)

The following is part of a series giving an overview of probate administration.  The laws governing probate administration vary from state to state, therefore it is important to consult with an attorney in your particular jurisdiction if you have a specific question regarding probate administration or need assistance with a decedent’s estate.

Definition of Probate

The term “probate” is derived from the Latin term meaning “to prove the will”.  Probate refers to the process where a court oversees the administration of a deceased person’s estate.  The purpose of the probate process …(read more)

In prior blog entries we discussed the repeal of the federal estate tax for the year 2010.  Given the current trillion dollar deficit, how much is the repeal of the federal estate tax costing in lost tax revenues?  According to IRS reports, federal estate tax generated $22.5 billion in revenues in 2007.

Individual states are also feeling the loss of tax revenues resulting from the federal estate tax repeal.  According to the Department of Finance for the State of California, California is currently facing a budget deficit of $14.5 billion.  By …(read more)