California law (Probate Code Section 15212) provides for the ability to leave your assets for the benefit of your animal(s). The following are the key issues that must be addressed when drafting a valid Pet Trust: Definition of the animal(s) covered under the Trust; Caretaker for the animal(s) who is left with detailed instructions and…
What is a Heggstad Petition? Drafting a trust and funding it (changing title to your assets to the name of your trust) is a multi-step process. If a person fails to fund or title his/her property in the name of the trust during his/her lifetime the “Heggstad Petition” (named after a decedent in the case)…
Your Living Trust contains private information. Instead of making every aspect of the Trust public, you can provide a Certificate of Trust to businesses or people you are dealing with on behalf of the Trust. The Certificate of Trust is a condensed document which is used to verify the important features of your Trust, and…
In your thirties, you might still be paying off student loans, and you may think you don’t need to start planning your estate. However, if you don’t have many assets, it may be even more important to plan to make sure what you do have goes where you’d like it to. You see, your net…
As an estate planning attorney, I am often asked by clients where their original estate planning documents should be kept. Estate planning documents can include your original will, power of attorney, trust, or advance health care directive.
