A client recently came to my office to help him with his mother's estate. She passed away earlier this year, and he was trying to distribute all the assets according to her living trust's instructions.
During the distribution of the estate, my client discovered his mother got a "reverse mortgage" on her house about 3 years ago. In order to facilitate the loan, the lending company took the house OUT of my client's trust and put it into her name alone. Some lending institutions still insist on doing things this way. I'm not sure why some lenders are more sophisticated than others, but some insist on doing things the "old fashioned" way.
So what did they do? After they put the home in her name and got the reverse mortgage in place (and presumably got their fees), they left the home OUT of the trust. When she died, the house was only in her name, thereby forcing the family to go to court. If the house had been titled in the name of the trust (as it should have been), my client's family would have been able to avoid the probate court system altogether.
So what is the lesson learned? If you are entertaining a refinance, or you are in the middle of one, make sure your lender doesn't leave you out in the cold.
If they are going to start the job, they should also FINISH the job and put your real estate BACK into your living trust.
Clients often ask me, "What if I want someone to get a particular item of personal property after I die?" The answer is simple - make sure your living trust contains the gift. In the distribution section of most living trusts, the issue of personal property is addressed. In some cases, there are specific gifts actually written into the document. For example, it might say, "My trustee shall distribute my jewelry to my cousin Mary....etc." However, in California you are allowed to refer to an external document. In most cases, that is a better alternative in case you want to make changes in the future.
This external written instruction can have many names, but I usually title mine "Instructions Regarding Distribution of Personal Property." Therefore, your living trust can refer to this external document that you can add to and subtract from over the years. The key is to make your gifts very clear. Don't just say, "I give my vase to my nephew Joey" because if you have more than one vase, it can cause confusion. Clarity is of paramount importance when it comes to these instructions. Some clients take photos of the item and indicate clearly who the intended recipient is. The main drawback I've noticed when including gifts within the trust document is that it's difficult to make changes as time goes on. You have to make a formal amendment. Using an external writing is much easier and more flexible.
Robert Mansour is a lawyer in Santa Clarita, California. He serves Valencia, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch, and beyond. If you have interest in creating an estate plan to protect yourself and your family, give Robert a call at (661) 414-7100.
If you create a living trust, you need to "fund" the trust. That means you have to put things "into" the trust. This doesn't occur by magic. You can't just create a trust and go about your life without taking the time to put your assets into the trust. You do so by actually changing title to the assets. You need to go to the bank and change title to your accounts. The accounts will no longer be in your name, but in the name of the trust instead. That requires time and paperwork. The same holds true for any real estate you have. You have to sign a deed which puts the real estate in the name of your trust.
For example, let's say you hold title as "Mary Smith and John Smith, husband and wife as joint tentants." In fact, that is how most married couples hold title to their real estate. When funding your trust, you should sign a new deed (most lawyers will help you with this) which places the house in the trust. Therefore, your new deed would say something like, "Mary Smith and John Smith, husband and wife and joint tenants, hereby grant to Mary Smith and John Smith, trustees of the Smith Family Trust, dated March 30, 2013 the following real estate..." Then you have to file the deed with the county recorder's office. Now, the house (or whatever real estate) is "in the trust."
When you transfer a parcel of real estate into a trust, you are actually "transferring" the asset. The transfer will trigger a reassessment of your property taxes if you're not careful. Therefore, you need to file a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR) with the county tax assessor's office. The PCOR let's the assessor's office know about the transfer and prevents the real estate from being reassessed provided the transfer falls under one of several allowable exclusions. The most popular "exceptions" are transfers between a husband and wife and transfers to a living trust. Therefore, you can't just file the deed with the county, but you also need to find out if filing a PCOR would be prudent. In most cases, you need to file one.
If you need help creating an estate plan for your family, contact Robert Mansour's office at (661) 414-7100. Robert serves Santa Clarita, Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Newhall, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch and surrounding areas.
People often ask me why they shouldn't buy their estate documents online or purchase their documents from a paralegal. Of course, they are free to do what they want. However, when it comes to legal documents, you have to be very careful. You might buy the prettiest documents in the world. They might even come in a fancy binder. However, they may leave a lot to be desired at the end of the day.
When it comes to estate planning documents, you need to make sure you are dealing with quality. An attorney who is experienced in the field of estate planning knows the language that should be included depending on your situation. They've been "down the river" before, and they can often anticipate what might be a trouble spot for your family.
It is often what is NOT addressed in the documents that becomes a problem. There are many common issues in life that must be addressed in the documents. Therefore, if all your documents do is split up your estate among your heirs, that is often far too basic. Depending on your situation, an attorney with experience might recommend some kind of special language over another. Also there are many common provisions that should be considered when dealing with certain specific situations. Again, what is unaddressed can become a thorn later on. When a document is silent on a particular issue, that issue can become a big problem.
For example, a client came to me and asked why his brother should get a fair share when his brother had borrowed money from his parents several times over the years. When his parents passed away, his brother had borrowed about $100,000 over the years. He asked me whether or not his brother's share should be reduced by the amount of the money borrowed from his parents over the years. Of course, his brother wanted his share without any reduction. I explained the living trust did not address what to do with loans. The document did not say anything about reductions to account for prior loans. Therefore, since the living trust was silent on the issue, his brother was to get a fair share just like him. This of course caused a big problem between the brothers, and they don't speak till this day. This may not be an issue in your family, but most families have their own issues that should probably be addressed in the documents. Also, if issues are addressed in the documents, that causes less family problems because the documents say exactly what the Trustee is supposed to do. Nothing is simply left to the imagination.
It is very important to make sure your documents say exactly what you want them to say. Having a living trust and other estate planning documents in place is wise, but don't get inadequate documents that do not address your specific issues. Also, you want to revisit your trust and other documents over the years to make sure they continue to suit your needs and address your family's issues.
A critical component to most living trusts is establishing who the successor Trustee is going to be. Sometimes, it is very difficult for people to choose two or three successor trustees (I usually like my clients to choose at least two alternates in the event their first choice is unable to serve). However, even if you know who your successor Trustees are going to be, you still need to outline a clear mechanism for succession in your living trust. In other words, how will we know when it's time for the successor trustee to serve? There are generally a handful of ways a successor trustee can step in and start handling your trust.
1) A common method is resignation. In other words, let's say you are the trustee but you can no longer handle your own affairs. You actually recognize that maybe it would be better if someone else handled your affairs. In that case, you can resign as trustee, and your successor Trustee steps in and handles your trust. The resignation can be accomplished by signing a formal resignation.
2) Death is also an easy way to establish succession. All your successor would need is your death certificate. Unfortunately, that can take weeks to get from the county, but it's a sure fire way to establish succession.
3) The last common way to establish succession is to establish "incapacity." Most trusts say that when a trustee becomes "incapacitated," the successors can step in and handle matters. However, the trick is how the document defines "incapacity." I have seen documents that call for two doctors' declarations under penalty of perjury, one of which must be the primary care physician. Some call for three doctors. Some say the beneficiaries can vote if someone is incapacitated. Sometimes this is very difficult to establish, especially when doctors are reluctant to sign such declarations (and they are often reluctant to do so for fear of litigation). In my living trusts, I usually require only one licensed physician's declaration to establish incapacity. Of course, I always make sure my clients are ok with this. It's much easier to handle things when only one doctor's declaration of incapacity is required. If you've chosen people you trust, why make it difficult for them to help you when the time comes?
Robert Mansour is a lawyer in Santa Clarita, CA. He handles wills, living trusts, and other estate planning matters for Santa Clarita and its communities of Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country, Stevenson Ranch, Newhall, Castaic and beyond. Call (661) 414-7100 for a consultation.
Clients are often surprised to discover that there are actually several different "kinds" of living trusts. They call the office and say, "Hey, how much for a living trust?" The main reason I believe prospective clients ask that question is because they don't really know what to ask, so they ask about fees instead.
Then I tell them, "Well, the fee partially depends on what type of living trust is best for your family." They respond, "What do you mean? I want a 'LIVING' trust." I explain that there are several types of "LIVING" trusts available, and we will address what kind of living trust is best for the client during the initial consultation."
Therefore, during the initial consultation with my clients, we explore the types of trusts available to them, and we try to figure out what would be best for the clients and their particular situation. I make recommendations based on what I learn during the first meeting.
Some trusts allow the surviving spouse to make changes upon the first death. Others do not. Some trusts are only designed to avoid probate and pass assets to others. Other trusts call for a split of the assets into subtrusts upon the first death - some make the split mandatory and others make the trust split discretionary. There are "probate avoidance trusts," "disclaimer trusts," "AB trusts," "ABC/QTIP Trusts," and other variations. Married couples generally have the most flexibility.
Some living trusts have provisions regarding children and some have even further provisions regarding grandchildren. Some contain "Pet Trusts." Some trusts are specific, and others deliberately broad.
Once clients understand they are not going to a get a "one size fits all" estate plan, they start to understand that estate planning is more than just filling out a couple of forms and going home.
HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THE INTERVIEW:
Fred: Welcome back to Out of the Rough. I’m joined by Robert Mansour. Robert Mansour is an attorney with the Law Offices of Robert M. Mansour. Welcome to the show.
Robert Mansour: Thank you Fred.
Fred: I wanna take some time to talk about trusts –
Robert Mansour: Oh okay.
Fred: – and the importance of a trust in estate planning. Specifically as a mortgage professional I see so many customers that don’t have their property or their properties in trust.
Robert Mansour: Uh huh, uh huh.
Fred: Tell me about an estate planning.
Robert Mansour: Estate planning is nothing more than a legal toolbox that you use or your family can use or your loved ones can use if something happens to you. If you can’t handle your own affairs the question is now what. Okay I’m in a coma. I’m sick. I’m at the hospital. Who’s going to handle all of my affairs after you pass away? How is your stuff, your things, your belongings, your real estate, your accounts, everything else, how is that going to be pass to other people and in what manner? And who’s going to be in charge of that? So I always tell people an estate plan is a legal toolbox. No matter how much money you have 50 grand, $50 million, you need to have a plan. And so the trust is one of the documents in this particular toolbox.
Fred: And I see that being one of the, one of the ones I see the most in real estate industry.
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: But, but I wanna touch upon one thing and, and those that are watching this I wanna stress it’s something you might not wanna talk about. It’s something that’s uncomfortable to talk about.
Robert Mansour: Uh huh.
Fred: It’s something that you keep puttin’ off.
Robert Mansour: Yep.
Fred: But it’s something that’s critical and ver-, relatively inexpensive for the value you get.
Robert Mansour: Oh yeah. I mean if you think about what the cost might be at the back end if you do not plan and then if you do plan it’s a bargain. But I must say that people do put it off because it’s easy to put off.
Fred: What are the big four, the big four documents?
Robert Mansour: The big four documents, the hammer in the tool box is the living trust.
Fred: Yes.
Robert Mansour: Other important documents are the will. People say why do I need a will if I have a living trust. The will is a backup to your trust. So let’s say something doesn’t get into your trust, you forget to change title to that asset and here you are in court, probate court. The will tells the judge to put everything into your trust, the Smith family trust or whatever. So it’s a backup. If everything is properly titled then you won’t need the will.
Fred: And in the will you can actually put specific bequests that you, that would be unusual, that would be different.
Robert Mansour: Well that’s actually a good place for it to put in your trust. Your trust would say I want my vase to go to my Cousin Joe and I want my –
Fred: Oh okay so you’d actually put it in the trust?
Robert Mansour: – Yeah you put it in the trust. The will is only a backup to the trust.
Fred: Got it.
Robert Mansour: That’s all it does. And then there’s two others. There’s one called an advance healthcare directive.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: Which puts somebody in charge of your healthcare decisions if you cannot do it. Most people think that their spouse is automatically entitled to do that and that is an incorrect assumption. Somebody has to have the legal authority to make sure to consent to surgery, to get your medical records, to move you from one facility to another, to the proverbial pull the plug.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: So this document allows that individual to do a lot of that, and if anybody else disagrees you’re not gonna have a stalemate. You have somebody with the legal authority.
Fred: To make decisions on your behalf if you can’t make those decisions.
Robert Mansour: That’s right.
Fred: And we’ve talked about car accidents where that decision you might be eventually perfectly healthy and perfectly fine cut someone needs to make a decision right then and there.
Robert Mansour: Right. And sometimes that document comes in very handy and that leads to the last document. The last of the four major big ones in the, in the plan, it’s called a durable power of attorney. Now in that particular document you are naming somebody to act on your behalf in virtually every other circumstance. They can talk to your lawyer, to your, uh, financial professional, to your loan person, to, uh, the HR department at your former employer. They can talk to the people managing your pension plan, your IRA, somebody to handle your credit cards. Who has the legal authority to act on your behalf –
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: – if something happens to you.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: And so those are the big four documents that go into most plans. And one, and all this goes to avoiding probate. Give me a quick understanding of probate. So here’s the deal: My wife and I pass away. Our assets do not magically go to our children. There’s no rainbow that comes from the sky and makes our house go to our kids. It has to happen somehow. How does it happen? Well you know this. You’re all about title and how, how homes are in title et cetera. The house has to pass to my kid so a judge has to get involved because no one is, my kids can’t just go sell the house. It’s not theirs. They don’t own it. So a judge has to say this is your house, these are you accounts, this is your money. That process is called the probate process.
Fred: Well it sounds expensive?
Robert Mansour: It can be. It can cost up to 5 percent of the gross of the estate.
Fred: Gross.
Robert Mansour: The gross.
Fred: So if you have a house worth 700,000 even though there’s a little bit of equity –
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: – 5 percent of 700,000 is a lot of money.
Robert Mansour: Yeah and a lot of times, sometimes people walk away because it doesn’t make financial sense to go through the process. Plus the mortgage payment is still due during that one or two years that you’re in court.
Fred: Right.
Robert Mansour: Who’s going to pay that?
Fred: Yeah and it does take some time. I know we’re runnin’ out of time –
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: – and we wanna touch as much as we can.
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: But the last thing I’m gonna touch upon with is and that is children.
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: With four children myself it is important because with life insurance and all the assets of the family if something, God forbid, happened to my wife and I –
Robert Mansour: Uh huh.
Fred: – there’s a few, well I shouldn’t say that, but maybe there’s somebody that wants to watch my children or look after my children for the wrong reason.
Robert Mansour: Uh huh.
Fred: Maybe there are certain, someone in the family that we don’t wanna choose. We’d prefer this person over that person.
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: And that allows you to, to, to discuss where the children go.
Robert Mansour: You can name guardians for your children if they are minors.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: Plus if they are minors, for example my kids are 15 and 13 currently. My life insurance policy is not made payable to them. No way.
Fred: You don’t wanna give a 15-year-old.
Robert Mansour: No because I know what he’s gonna do with the money. But it’s payable to the Mansour Family Trust.
Fred: Right.
Robert Mansour: And then my trustee manages the money for my kids. Gives it to them at appropriate ages for appropriate reasons, for schooling, for any other appropriate reason.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: And the money stays safe. Plus if it’s in the trust we can design it so that if my kids get divorce, if they get into bankruptcy trouble, credit problems that money is safe in the Mansour Family Trust and my kids are not facing some kind of exposure or losing half of that money in a divorce or something like that.
Fred: Uh huh.
Robert Mansour: So there, you can protect the kids that way.
Fred: Important information. And, and I wanna stress, um, as we, as we finish this segment is you can look for information online but it’s really critical that you go a professional like Robert. Robert how could those watching this online –
Robert Mansour: Yeah.
Fred: – or on TV, uh, get a hold of you?
Robert Mansour: Well I appreciate that. They can just go to my, uh, estate planning web site which is Mansourlaw.com. My last name M-A-N-S-O-U-R.
Fred: Mansour.
Robert Mansour: Mansourlaw.com and that’s my web site. Otherwise they just call the office which is 661‑414‑7100.
Fred: Thank you. Thanks for all you do for the community.
Robert Mansour: Thank you.
Fred: Thanks for, uh, sharing. It’s a wealth of information.
Robert Mansour: It’s my honor.
Fred: In a short timeframe.
Robert Mansour: Thank you very much.
Fred: Appreciate it.
Robert Mansour: Thank you.
Fred: Absolutely. Well we’re gonna jump to a quick break and we’ll be right back.
I was very honored to be invited to SCV Today, a local television program covering local Santa Clarita events and issues. Hosts Tami Edwards and Dave Caldwell asked me some very common questions regarding estate planning, wills, living trusts, and much more. We discussed issues such as "What is the difference between a will and a living trust?", "Doesn't the spouse simply get everything?", and "Don't my children get everything when I die anyway?" We also touched on the issue of probate and what's involved. Tami also raised the Advance Health Care Directive and how important it is to have someone in charge of such decisions. Finally Dave asked Rob about what's involved in creating an estate plan. Rob explains several basic concepts in this video segment.
Robert Mansour is a wills and living trusts lawyer in Santa Clarita, California. He also serves Valencia, Newhall, Saugus, Canyon Country, Castaic, Stevenson Ranch and surrounding communities. For those without a plan, Rob generally offers free consultations. Call today and schedule your appointment - (661) 414-7100.
HERE IS THE TRANSCRIPT FROM THE INTERVIEW:
Dave: Welcome back to SCV Today. Today we are all getting older. A lot of us are family, have families.
Tami: Mm, hmm
Dave: You're not getting older, but you do have a family.
Tami: Yes I do.
Dave: Right? And, uh, we need to be thinking ahead of things. My parents thought ahead, long, long time ago and they created a living trust, and, uh, now Rob Mansour is on to talk about that, an estate planner –
Rob Mansour: Mm, hmm
Dave: - an attorney, an Oxy grad.
Rob Mansour: Oxy grad, that's right, proud of it.
Dave: Yeah –
Rob Mansour: And Oxy's statistic, uh, most Oxy grads marry other Oxy grads, and my wife is also an Oxy grad.
Dave: Wow, that's very cool.
Rob Mansour: So, she, you know, I'm a good catch so what can I say.
Tami: You are a good catch, Rob.
Rob Mansour: Thank you very much.
Dave: Let's, let's talk about this. We're gonna start the conversation off with something very basic, the living trust versus a will.
Rob Mansour: Mm, hmm
Dave: What's the better way to go?
Rob Mansour: Okay, if you have more than $150,000.00 in California, uh, real estate, uh, bank account, investment, etc., you're better off with a trust. A will only goes into effect when you die, so if you have a will, a lot of please say, oh I have a will. I say that's great, but it doesn't mean anything while you're still living. Nobody can use a will to assist you in case of incapacity or you get into an accident or something like that. A will is just a wish list of where you want your things to go when you die. I want my vase to go to my Cousin Sally. I want my car to go to my, my Cousin Vinnie. I want this to go here, this to go there. That's all a will does, and you gotta go to court with the will. That's called probate court. You've heard of criminal court, civil court, juvenile court. Well, there's something called probate court, and that's where the judge makes sure that Sally gets this and Johnny gets that, and the house gets to the kids, and it's court supervised, but it's very expensive. It takes a long time, sometimes two years or more, and it's very frustrating because who has the time. Also, let's say you have a house that's going through the probate process. Somebody has to pay the mortgage on that house, and statement the family doesn't have the money, so everybody's kinda like, okay, what are we gonna do? And I've had families have to walk away from certain assets because they could not afford to continue making the payment while it's making its way through this probate system.
Tami: So, now I know a big misconception is if you have a will, it, it doesn't go to probate, but that's, that is a huge misconception.
Rob Mansour: Well, a will is almost guaranteeing probate because it's, a will is a letter to the judge.
Tami: Okay.
Rob Mansour: Dear Judge: This is where I want my stuff to go when I pass away. That's all it is. Um, now some people try to –
Tami: You getting nervous over here?
Dave: I'm getting very nervous, yeah.
Rob Mansour: We better get you an estate plan quick because you're about to –
Dave: Yeah, we got about six minutes left in this segment. Can you get it done?
Rob Mansour: Quick, quick, let's get your paperwork in order.
Dave: Yeah
Rob Mansour: But you're right, yeah, there are other things that people try to do. They try to do joint ownership as a way around a will. They'll say, I'll just own things jointly with my spouse or, but that has its own dangers, and if you want, we can get into those, but I don't know, you know, if that's something that you want to address.
Dave: Well, let me, let me ask you a quick question. I'm sorry to interrupt you, but, but I have one child.
Rob Mansour: Yep.
Dave: What happened, is, is everything automatically gonna go to him?
Rob Mansour: Okay, uh, what's your son's first name?
Dave: Chris.
Rob Mansour: Chris, okay, so you pass away. You're unmarried, correct? Everything will go to Chris according to California law. How old is Chris?
Dave: 21.
Rob Mansour: Okay, so Chris will get everything right away, which might be fine, but remember, he's gotta go through the probate process to get everything.
Dave: Oh.
Rob Mansour: If you own –
Dave: Which can take –
Rob Mansour: a real estate –
Dave: -which can take some time?
Rob Mansour: - yeah, there's no magic pixy dust that comes from the sky and makes everything belong to Chris. He can't just sell your house or your car or things that he doesn't own, and he can't just start doing that. Also, if it really a good idea for Chris to get everything at 21? Maybe he should get things at 25 or 30. What if Chris is in a bad marriage and there's a divorce pending? Should that ex-spouse get half of your stuff during that, during that process?
Dave: Good point.
Rob Mansour: What if, uh, Chris becomes a spendthrift and can't hold onto money? What if he's in bankruptcy or creditor trouble or he's got, he made a bad investment and they're coming after him?
Dave: Don't, don't forget, he's an Oxy guy so do you think he's gonna do all these things?
Rob Mansour: No, of course not, but somebody other than Chris –
Dave: Yeah, I gotcha.
Rob Mansour: - might have those problems and wouldn't it be nice if everything was sitting in the Dave Caldwell Trust protected for Chris' benefit and shielded away from all of these things? That might be a good idea.
Dave: Yeah, it sounds like it.
Tami: Now, I, I know people in my life that actually have well over $15,000.00 in real estate and so on and so forth.
Rob Mansour: Mm, hmm
Tami: And they don't have a, a will or a trust –
Rob Mansour: Right.
Tami: - and, the, the thought process is, well when one of us goes, it automatically goes to the other anyway. It doesn't matter. We don't need it.
Rob Mansour: Automatically is a big word because let's say my wife and I own something together, like a bank account. Oftentimes husbands and wives are together on real estate and bank accounts. One person dies; yes that's true. The, the remaining spouse does get everything, but at some point, you're gonna run out of people, and now you got one person on that asset, and so now what do we do? So let's say, for example, my wife and I own our house together. Let's say I pass away, okay? Men generally pass away first, for some reason, so I pass away first, right, Dave, no, no comments.
Dave: ****
Rob Mansour: But then my wife, my wife meets somebody new. Let's call him, um, Bill and she and Bill get married, and she puts Bill on everything, and then my wife passes away. Guess who owns everything?
Dave: Bill
Rob Mansour: Bill
Tami: Bill
Rob Mansour: My kids get nothing. This is the problem with joint ownership. Joint ownership is one of the, the leading reasons why people lose their wealth in this country, remarriages, new friend, somebody you put on your account with you. Sometimes you put people on the account just because you want them to be able to pay your bills, and help you out, but what you don't realize is that, that, you've essentially given them that asset.
Tami: Right.
Rob Mansour: So, automatically also is not true. I had a client who had a property in Orange County. He passed away. His wife did get that house, but she had to go through the court system to get it because it was only in his name. So, yes, she eventually did get it, but it was even more complicated because he had some natural children from a previous relationship. So, now the wife owns the property with those kids from the previous marriage, and they are in business together now, and they don't get along very well.
Dave: Oh boy.
Rob Mansour: So, California has a plan for you, but I always tell clients, look, you take control. You say when people are gonna get your stuff and how they're gonna get your stuff. Don't let California dictate what happens.
Dave: How easy or difficult is it to create a living trust? Is it, is it a long process or is it simply an office visit; you can get it squared away, and needs, does it need to go through a court to be certified?
Rob Mansour: No, not at all. It's a, it's a contract. So, let's say you and, uh, well let's say Tammy and her husband come in, and they wanna do an estate plan. They sit down with me. We spend probably about an hour and half devising the plan. We also wanna talk about what kinds of living trusts are most appropriate because it's not like you just buy a car. You don't go to the dealership and say, hey, give me a car. But, you have to check, well what kind of car do you need? So, then Tammy and her husband and I would talk about what kind of trust would be best, how the children should receive their inheritance. Should it be all at once? Should it be in stages? Who is going to be in charge of everything in that trust if anything happens to Tammy and her husband? And this first process is probably an hour and a half meeting, sometimes two hours, and then I work on the documents, and I send them to the client for their review. The whole process takes about 45 days to 60 days. Keep in mind that a living trust and a will are just two things in the toolbox that you get. You're gonna get an advanced healthcare directive for each party. You're gonna get durable powers of attorney, marital property agreements. If you own a business of any sort, there needs to be paperwork regarding that. So the first question people always say is, how much for the trust, but I, when I educate them that a trust is just one tool in the toolbox, they start to get a better idea that there's more to it than just one –
Dave: Right
Rob Mansour: - one legal document.
Tami: Right, well you know when you're in a situation where there, there is one, one surviving parent, and something happens to them, and if there's no directive as to who is in charge of making the medical decisions, and, um, I can imagine my four children 'cause I would have two feeling one way, two feeling the other –
Rob Mansour: And nobody in charge.
Tami: - Two would be saying pull the plug and the other two would be going, no, save her. I won't say which two are which, but –
Rob Mansour: Also keep in mind that this healthcare directive for example, it's very important because it not only allows you the proverbial pull the plug scenario, but it allows you to be an advocate for that loved one. You can raise, you know, you can raise trouble in the hospital if people are not paying attention to that person. If, you can get the medical records and go to another facility. You can take that individual and take them to a different location.
Tami: Absolutely.
Rob Mansour: Otherwise, without those tools, you might find yourself, uh, very frustrated.
Tami: Mm, hmm
Rob Mansour: Yeah.
Dave: Rob, thank you very much for joining us. We've gotta take a break here, but –
Rob Mansour: Thank you, Dave.
Dave: - I, I have, I have a feeling that we're gonna need to bring Rob back.
Tami: We definitely need to bring Rob back.
Dave: There's a lot, there's a lot –
Tami: Will you come back?
Rob Mansour: Uh, sure, yes, you're very, you're both very nice, and I love the set, so yes. It's my honor.
Tami: We need to talk personal injury when you come back.
Dave: Oh, yeah.
Tami: We need to talk my case with the Super Bowl people that are –
Rob Mansour: Of course, yes -
Tami: - gonna sue me for saying Super Bowl.
Rob Mansour: - your pending litigation.
Tami: Yes. So, you know, we're gonna have you back.
Rob Mansour: Well thank you very much.
Tami: You're awesome, Rob.
Rob Mansour: Appreciate it.
Tami: And call Rob. He's awesome.
Dave: Call Rob Mansour. If you wanna get his information, you can always go to our web site scvtoday.com. We will direct you over to Rob's best way to contact.
Rob Mansour: Thank you very much.
Dave: And we'll do that. As Tammy mentioned, the big game is coming up this weekend. I'm not gonna say way. I respect the NFL. You're not gonna say anything?
Tami: I was gonna say the NFL can suck it, but I won't.
Rob Mansour: Oh boy.
Dave: Mackenzie Holland's gonna join us here in just a moment. We're gonna talk about healthy, big-game snacks.
After the death of a spouse, many clients call me and ask me what to do. While there are several things that can be done, there is usually no emergency. I tell the client to take a few weeks and grieve. Then they can call me to discuss any steps they should be taking.
One of the things I usually help my clients with is taking the deceased spouse off of title to the real estate. This is done by filing an "Affidavit of Death" with the county recorder's office. Also, you need to file a "Preliminary Change of Ownership Report" to keep the property taxes at the same level. The affidavit puts the county recorder's office on notice that a spouse has passed away, and now only one person is in charge of the real estate. This is a simplification of the process, but that's essentially what you are doing with respect to real estate. Why would you take the spouse off the property? Well, if there is any chance the property would be sold in the future, then only one signature would be required (that of the surviving spouse).Robert Mansour is a Santa Clarita, CA attorney who can help you protect yourself and your family with a solid estate plan. To learn more about estate planning, click here to watch an information video.
If you have a business such as a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, etc., you have to ask yourself whether or not you want to assign your interest in that business to your trust. The fundamental questions are: "Is this business part of my trust estate or not? Will it be subject to the rules of the trust? Will my trustee be in charge of this business?" If the answers are "Yes," then you need to assign your business interest to the living trust. By doing so, you make it clear your business is indeed part of your living trust.
I once had a client who owned a business with his partner. There were no decent legal documents but they had a "handshake deal." They owned a piece of land in Los Angeles. A junk yard company used the land and leased the property from my client and his partner. The monthly rent for the property was $8000. My client and his partner took $4000 each as rental income. I asked my client, "What happens when you die? Who gets that $4000 a month?" He said, "Well, I want my family to continue getting the $4000/month." I explained that if he assigns his business to the trust, then the trust can continue receiving the income after he dies. We also got his business partner to sign the assignment so there is less chance of any challenge to the plan. Before implementing this change, the future of his business holding was very uncertain.
If you own a business, consider assigning your interest in the business to your living trust. The more "clear" your legal documents are, the less likely there will be confusion or misunderstandings in the future.
If you want to learn more, call my office at (661) 414-7100.
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