Wills and estate plans are the last things anyone wants to think about after a death in the family. Still, when a loved one dies, the process for distributing their belongings becomes an important step towards final closure, both in the personal and legal sense. All states require that a probate court oversees the distribution
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When a person dies, their belongings must pass onto the living. When no other arrangements are made, these belongings are usually distributed and passed among the next of kin according to the intestate laws in the decedent’s home state. This process is supervised by a probate court and can be lengthy, depending on the decedent’s
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In California, a “small estate affidavit” is often used to resolve final estate matters for a deceased person who died without a will and can help fast track the costly, lengthy process of probate. A small estate affidavit is a state-specific legal document used to skip the estates’ probate process with a total value under
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The probate process can be a lengthy and expensive affair for certain estates, especially after they have reached a specific scope and level of complexity. But it is not always necessary, and there are ways to shorten and even avoid probate. Careful estate planning tools can serve as an alternative option to California probate and
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When an adult is no longer capable of caring for themselves, their loved ones may step in to care for them – to the point of taking full authority over their lives, if circumstances validate it. That is what a conservatorship authorizes. Conservatorships may be considered in cases where adults are no longer self-sufficient due
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When a person dies, their assets must be distributed among their relatives or persons of their choosing. Accounts, real property, and even sentimental items may be bequeathed to individuals, groups, or organizations. An estate plan can help a decedent’s loved ones (and the appropriate probate court) determine who gets what after death. Estate plans often
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Since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the federal estate tax exemption limit has doubled from $5 million per individual to $10 million per individual (indexed for inflation). This means that the estate and gift tax exemption limit in 2021 will be $11.7 million in 2021, up from $11.58 million in 2020. This
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California transmutation agreements enable married couples to “transmute” community property into separate property, and vice versa. A transmutation agreement can also be used to transfer property between spouses. There are pros and cons to utilizing a transmutation agreement. They are usually used as a tool for postnuptial property distribution, tax purposes, establishing ownership over certain
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Creating and funding a trust is a multistep process. It takes time to complete that process, and a vital part involves transferring assets and property into a trust. When transferring a home into a trust, for example, the home’s title must be amended via a deed to reflect that it is currently owned by the
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You do not need a lawyer to get or create a power of attorney in California. A power of attorney is a document giving another person (named your “agent”) the right to act in your name (wherein you are the “principal”) within the scope and limitations set by the document. A power of attorney can
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