What is a Living Trust?
A living trust is the foundation of your California estate plan - the building block, the big kahuna, the thing ...
Browse our complete archive of legal analysis and client resources.
A living trust is the foundation of your California estate plan - the building block, the big kahuna, the thing ...
In a typical trust administration, the family home is sold, the brokerage accounts are liquidated, and all the ...
As the successor trustee in a trust administration, one of your most important tasks is to create and maintain ...
In California, the family home will go through probate unless it is in a living trust. As a result, people ...
Your mom just died. But thank goodness she had a living trust. And now it's your job to administer it. She ...
You just lost someone you love. Maybe it was a parent, a spouse, a sibling, or a close friend. You are grieving, and ...
A Heggstad Petition asks a California probate court to confirm that an asset legally belongs to a living trust, even ...
I wrote about the framework for handling a deceased loved one's personal property in my previous post
Your parents have died. Thank goodness they had a living trust. And so far, it looks like their home, investment ...
When someone who had a living trust dies, the successor trustee will receive the trust binder with the estate ...
After someone dies with a California living trust, the successor trustee will need to set up a trust bank account. A ...
Your attorney cannot prepare the required trust notice from the trust document alone. We also need a complete list ...
When someone dies with a living trust, the successor trustee may assume the next step is to collect the assets, pay ...
When a family member dies, the person named as successor trustee has two immediate reactions.
A successor trustee is the person (sometimes an institution) named in the trust to take over management and ...
Most California families owe far less capital gains tax than they expect.
If you are married and you inherit money or property in California, that inheritance is your separate property ...
If you own a business in Roseville and you die or become incapacitated, your ownership interest is an asset ...
Virtual estate planning is legal in California, and it is a good option for a lot of busy families, because it is ...
If you leave a traditional IRA or 401(k) to your adult children, the SECURE Act 10-year rule generally forces ...
On our nation's 250th birthday, I'd like to share a story.
A real life estate planning story and quick hits about estate planning a related matters.
A California transfer on death deed promises a cheap way to pass your home to your kids without the cost and ...
If you remarried and you each have adult children from before, a standard living trust will quietly pick a ...
Many Folsom families have built their living trust estate plan. Great job! Your family and assets are better ...
When your spouse dies, the trust can wait. Your first priority is to get through the shock, bring your family ...
Hold on tight to your money, and don't let your children see it until you die. Dammit, you ...
When a Pleasanton parent dies and leaves the family home to two or more adult children, the annual property tax bill ...
Many California estate planning attorneys default to naming the living trust as the beneficiary of your IRA and ...
If you live in Santa Monica and your estate planning attorney is in Pasadena, you are looking at twenty-five miles, ...
If you plan to leave some of your estate to charity and you have an IRA, the smartest move is usually to name the ...
You built the house in El Dorado Hills. You raised the kids, or helped raise the ...
If you own a single-family home in Walnut Creek and you die without a living trust, ...
If you own a home in El Dorado Hills and you die with only a will, your home goes through California probate. A will ...
Proposition 19 passed in November 2020 and took effect February 16, 2021. It changed the rules for inheriting ...
Your loved one just died. He had a living trust and named you the successor trustee. Now what? This article explains ...
Most California living trusts do a good job of keeping assets out of probate. But shouldn't they also protect your ...
Folsom is a family town. Youth soccer, baseball, basketball, swimming and volleyball seem like year-long ...
You finally completed your living trust estate plan to protect your family. Nice work. You met with an attorney ...
You live in Pleasanton, Danville, San Jose, or somewhere nearby. Your home is worth $1.5 million, maybe more. ...
Most El Dorado Hills homeowners who contact us have been thinking about getting their estate planning done for ...
You just went through a divorce. Your estate plan probably still names your ex-spouse as ...
If you own a home in El Dorado Hills and you don't have a living trust, your family is one death away from ...
Pleasanton families can get a complete California living trust estate plan without ever walking into a law office. ...
California probate fees are set by the California Probate Code. On a $1.5 million estate, the combined attorney and ...
California is a community property state. Most states are not. The other community property states are Arizona, ...
Granite Bay homeowners are not doing anything different from homeowners everywhere else in California. They're ...
California estate planning for married couples in this range looks different than it did ...
Roseville has no shortage of estate planning attorneys. A quick Google search will return a dozen names, a few ...
Yes, you can create a complete California living trust estate plan without ever walking into a law office. Every ...
If your spouse passed away and your living trust automatically funded a bypass trust, this post is for you. You may ...
If you and your spouse both died tonight, who raises your kids tomorrow?
Two years ago, Abigail called our office about setting up her living trust. She didn't ...
This is one of the first questions Roseville homeowners ask us. It's a good one. And unlike most legal questions, it ...
There is a growing category of assets that many California estate plans completely ignore. And ignoring them doesn't ...
Two questions we hear constantly from Roseville homeowners:
You've worked hard. You've built something. And now, somewhere in the back of your mind, there's a nagging question: ...
Roseville is full of young families. The neighborhoods around Blue Oaks, West ...
Divorce is one of the most significant legal events in a person's life. It changes your financial life, your family ...
Second marriages can be wonderful, and second-marriage estate plans are complicated.
This guide explains what estate planning looks like for Central Coast families in 2026, what happens if you ...
If you own a home in California, you almost certainly need a living trust — not just a will. A will does not avoid ...
An outdated estate plan isn't just useless — it can actively harm your family. Beneficiary designations that ...
If you can, make your successor trustee and durable power of attorney agent someone who lives nearby. Logistics are ...
A recent California Appellate Court case was just published, and it tells the story of how not to sue your ...
California estate planning often involves high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and professionals seeking ...
An Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust (ILIT) is one of the most powerful and underused tools in estate planning. An ...
A 10-year-old decision by the California Court of Appeals is a landmark case for California ...
One of the most heartbreaking ...
The One Big Beautiful Bill passed last ...
As of January 1, 2026, California reinstated asset limits for ...
A common scenario: years ago, a parent was added to the title of a California home, maybe to help qualify for a ...
If you own real property in Roseville, ...
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to ...
I’ve been a California estate planning attorney for 28 years. I’ve worked with thousands of ...
I’m not an English professor, but I believe I’m in good company in saying that Charles Dickens is the greatest ...
After more than 25 years of California estate planning, I've seen the same mistakes made over and over. None ...
This is a short article about a basic truth about estate planning: your estate plan will have a big impact. Whether ...
In my last post, I wrote about the importance of ...
Losing a spouse or parent is one of the hardest things any of us will have to deal with. The weight of the ...
California probate is expensive, slow, and public. Most estate planning attorneys, including us, recommend ...
This guide covers everything California families need to understand about estate planning, from why a living trust ...
Most people do not think about how their living trust will be administered when they die. But there are two ...
For the first time in decades, California estate planners can give their clients a definitive answer on the estate ...
Over 25 years of California estate planning practice, certain questions come up in nearly every initial ...
This article will discuss whether a California resident can move to Texas to take advantage the Qualified Small ...
Gone are the days when creating an estate plan meant battling California traffic, hunting for parking, and ...
DIY estate planning tools have gotten better. They're cheaper than ever, and they produce documents that look ...
We are a culture of clutter.
Irrevocable trusts have long been a ...
When we design a California living trust, we almost always recommend including asset protection trust provisions for ...
Your 401(k) and IRA don't pass through your living trust or your will. They pass directly to whoever you named as ...
There's a window for getting your parent's estate plan done, and it's shorter than most adult children realize. Once ...
California’s Proposition 19 has now been law for four years, and it’s still bad, even though we are learning to deal ...
At Clark Allison LLP, we’re passionate about helping Californians navigate the complexities of estate planning with ...
At Clark Allison LLP, we’re committed to keeping you informed about the latest developments in California estate ...
With President Donald Trump well into his new term and Republicans gaining influence in Congress, many California ...
As President Trump begins his second term, his administration is poised to revisit tax policy, with significant ...
You've worked very hard to help your clients succeed, but they are getting older. When their children inherit their ...
Clark Allison 7 min read
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a ...
Of course, Marley and Scrooge had a tight estate plan. Do you?
Earlier this year, we received a call from someone who wanted us to confirm that her father's living trust amendment ...
I’ve been a California estate planning attorney for 28 years. I’ve worked with thousands of ...
California estate planning attorneys talk a lot about the importance of getting a living ...
Welcome back to another enlightening dive into the world of estate planning, where we ...
It is difficult when a spouse dies, but the difficulty is ramped up if the deceased spouse left behind debt. This ...
Earlier this year, the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously to clarify the rules on how a California resident ...
"The first rule of a happy life is low expectations."
Charlie Munger
Welcome back, to another enlightening dive into the world of estate planning, where we blend the seriousness ...
1. Don't let perfection be the enemy of good. Don't stop yourself from protecting your family ...
We recommend that individuals and married couples who own a home set up a living trust to avoid probate. California ...
When you sell your home, you have to consider your tax hit, and that tax hit is the capital gains tax. The federal ...
When we help our California clients create their living trust estate plan, we prepare and record a deed transferring ...
Georges Hautecourt. Old school estate planning attorney. Sometimes, old school is not good. All to the cat. ...
When someone with a living trust ("the grantor") dies, her successor trustee must administer the trust. This is ...
You know you need to set up your estate plan.
I've been an estate planning attorney for more than 25 years. I love my work because I've been able to meet ...
Recently, we've had several clients with the same problem:
Buying a home in California is difficult. California real estate is very expensive, and then you have to deal with ...
If you don’t have children, and your only family are distant relatives you don’t even know, you have more options ...
If you’ve done your estate planning and created and funded your living trust, good job! Your family and assets are ...
In 2024, you can gift $18,000 to anyone without incurring a gift tax. If you are married, you ...
Estate planning attorneys and smart financial advisors will tell you that unless you have a ...
Before I tell you about the unique way we run our estate planning law firm, let me first say that we are a ...
If you’re reading this, you already know you need a living trust estate plan to ...
It's critical that you do your estate planning to protect your family and your assets. An effective estate plan ...
Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely ...
Of course Marley and Scrooge had a tight estate plan.
My advice to high school and college kids on choosing a career.
Many people think they can only gift $10,000 per year per person. They are referring to the annual estate tax ...
Why do you leave your children an inheritance?
If you want to name adults as the beneficiaries of your IRA, we recommend you name them individually on your IRA ...
There are many ways to make charitable gifts, whether you are a true philanthropist, anxious for tax deduction, or a ...
Financial elder abuse is a big problem. Many states, like California, have passed laws to make it difficult for ...
We've been asked many times lately whether a Transfer on Death Deed can replace a Living Trust. The short answer is ...
The following is not an actual letter, but it could be. It reflects the reality and emotions of many people we have ...
You've heard it many times. Estate planning experts always say you need a living trust to avoid probate. But since ...
What are five of the biggest estate planning mistakes you can make?
It's too late for estate planning when it is too late.
A Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) is a tax-efficient way to fulfill your required minimum distribution (RMD) ...
The Importance of Using an Estate Planning Attorney for Your Financial Legacy
Estate planning often goes ...
Many of our new clients think the person in charge of a living trust is called Executor. That's not quite right. ...
Our firm has been doing estate planning for over 28 years. Over that time, we have learned that the #1 reason people ...
When you design your living trust, you will have two options for how you want your children to receive their ...
Estate planning is often overlooked or put off until it's too late. When it comes to ensuring the financial security ...
If you reside in California and pass away without an estate plan (a will or living trust), your estate will be ...
Our clients often ask us about estate taxes. They want to know how they can set up their living trust estate plan to ...
As your mother of father get older, they may need your help.
Having an updated estate plan is fundamental to being a serious and caring human, but a surprising number of humans ...
California law makes it difficult for a caregiver to become the beneficiary of an elderly person's estate. In a ...
Durable Powers of Attorney are important documents in a California estate plan. They are used when someone is no ...
A thoughtful and well written living trust estate plan can do a lot of things:
Make sure you correctly name the beneficiaries of your IRA so your estate plan will work and your trust ...
Financial advisors are very valuable to help you invest and manage your money and retirement plans. But financial ...
With the advent of the SECURE Act, leaving your IRA to your children is not as great as it used to be.
What is an estate plan? It could be a few handwritten pages stating who gets your assets when you die. It ...
If you are a California homeowner, you've probably heard about Proposition 13. In 1978, California voters ...
We get it. Thinking about finally doing your estate planning sounds like a big hassle.
You've worked hard for decades to make a good life for you and your family. You should be in no mood to see your ...
If you are one of those people who are looking for a deal, you may be enticed by California's Transfer on Death Deed ...
A bypass trust or A/B trust was a staple provision in living trusts before the estate tax laws changed in 2011. Now, ...
If you are married and a California resident, and you own a home, you will need a joint revocable living trust as ...
Good job on setting up your living trust estate plan! You are now among the smart and proactive group that has taken ...
When making your living trust estate plan, you will need ...
You’ve heard about “Wills” and “Trusts” but ...
We created this guide to give you a brief overview of how to fund your living trust so your living trust can do what ...
One of the most important decisions you make during estate planning is choosing who ...
If you are a California resident and you have assets that would go through probate, then you need a revocable living ...
Probate in California is a court process to administer the estate of someone who has ...
A good estate-planning attorney will eliminate stress and create a plan that serves ...
Knowing what to watch out for will help you avoid the most common estate planning mistakes. ...
Estate planning attorneys are vital in the estate planning process. They can even ...
If you have a blended family in California, your estate plan needs to address two concerns:
It’s bad enough to rely on the state of California to distribute your assets when you die, but it’s even worse if a ...
What happens if you don’t prepare an estate plan? The ...
If you have a high net worth estate, your estate plan ...
All adult humans need some level of estate plan.
The primary feature of a ...