1. Who needs estate planning?
Almost everyone needs, and can benefit from, estate planning. An estate plan is not just for the healthy, nor just for those 65+. If you have minor children, at a minimum a will is necessary because it is the place to name a guardian for your children. If you own a house and/or assets valued at $184,500 or more, you should consider a living trust. If you do not have a living trust in place your assets will have to go through probate upon your death. Probate is expensive and time consuming. The cost of an estate plan is a small fraction of the cost of probate.
If you do not have a Durable Power of Attorney and you become incapacitated, the court will have to appoint a conservator for your finances, which is time consuming and costly. You may not like the conservator appointed for you.
If you do not have an Advanced Health Care Directive and you become incapacitated, you can't ensure your wishes regarding medical treatment will be followed.
The Law Office of Heather Miller has helped young, growing families, parents with adult children who can't handle money responsibly, established adults with assets (both middle class and high net worth), and parents with special needs children.
2. What is a Living Trust?
A living trust is a revocable trust that you create to hold your property, which includes provisions on how to distribute your property when you pass away. A living trust is one of the best options for ensuring your estate avoids probate.
3. Who controls property transferred to a trust?
You do. When you create the trust you name yourself as the initial trustee of the trust with the power to control the property just as if it was in your individual name. You can use the assets just like you did before you created the trust.
4. What happens to my trust and trust assets after I die?
When you pass away, the trust assets are distributed to your named beneficiaries without probate proceedings. After the assets are distributed the trust ends. You can rest assured that your distributions and designations are followed after your death because the trust cannot be changed once you pass away; it becomes irrevocable.
5. Is a Will sufficient?
Generally no, a will is not sufficient for most California estates. If your estate is worth over $140,000 and you die with a will, but no living trust, your estate is subject to probate. Probate fees are paid out of the estate, so any distributions you made to heirs will be reduced by the probate fees paid from the estate to the executor of the will and the attorney handling probate.
6. What is probate?
Probate is a court proceeding that makes sure a will is valid. The court totals the deceased's property, ensures debts and taxes are paid, the will is proved valid and the remaining assets are distributed. Currently probate takes anywhere from one to two years.
7. Why should I avoid probate?
There are two main reasons for avoiding probate: expense and time
Probate Fees
Probate fees are governed by California Probate Code Section 10810.
Estate Value Statutory Fee
$100,000 $4,000
$200,000 $7,000
$300,000 $9,000
$400,000 $11,000
$500,000 $13,000
$600,000 $15,000
$700,000 $17,000
$800,000 $19,000
$900,000 $21,000
$1,000,000 $23,000
$1,500,000 $28,000
$2,000,000 $33,000
$3,000,000 $43,000
The above statutory fees are paid to the attorney handling probate, plus the same amount is paid to the executor of the will. In addition to statutory fees, there are court fees to be paid and possibly extraordinary attorney's fees. In determining the statutory fee, the court does not take into account debts. For instance, if the value of real property is $500,000 fees are calculated on that amount, regardless of the amount due on the mortgage.
Time
As mentioned above, probate can take a year to two years to complete before distributions are made to heirs.
Additional Concerns - Probate records are public. If you do not want your records and information made available to the public, create a living trust and avoid probate all together.
8. What happens if I become incapacitated and I have no estate plan?
If you become incapacitated and do not have a living trust or a durable power of attorney, the court will appoint a conservator for you. Conservatorships proceedings are lengthy and costly, just like probate. A will is not helpful in the event of incapacity because it does not become effective until after you die.
9. What makes up my estate?
Your estate is made up of your personal residence, additional real estate, business interests, bank accounts, investments, stocks and bonds, retirement policies and life insurance.
If you have real estate out of state, you have an estate in that state. If you do not transfer the property into your living trust, you risk having probate proceedings in the state where the real property is located.
10. Do I need to worry about estate taxes?
Currently, the federal estate tax limit is $5.43 million. You can pass any amount under the limit to beneficiaries without having to pay estate taxes. Additionally, there is no state estate tax in California.
If you have an estate valued at over $5.43 million, you should consult with an estate planning attorney to minimize or eliminate estate taxes.
10. Who will take care of my minor child if I die unexpectedly?
If you have a minor child, you should designate a person or persons to be guardian over their person and property. This is accomplished through a will and a nomination of guardian. You should name a backup guardian so that if the first nominated person cannot act, the court will not have to appoint a guardian. Avoid emotionally draining family battles over guardianship by creating a nomination of guardian as soon as possible to ensure your wishes are followed.
11. Why use the Law Office of Heather Miller for your estate planning needs?
Clients of the Law Office of Heather Miller receive personalized, friendly service in a comfortable environment. It is our goal to make clients feel at home during their appointments and remove the unpleasantness many people associate with the legal profession. At home appointments, on-site notary, personal deed recording and follow up questions at no additional charge are all apart of what makes the Law Office of Heather Miller different.
12. What are typical fees?
Because the Law Office of Heather Miller provides tailored and customized estate plans, fees will vary from client to client. However, we understand hourly fees can be intimidating and choose to use flat fees instead. That means all phone calls, emails, appointments, drafts and revisions are included in the flat fee. You can rest assured you will not be charged more than the amount quoted in your client engagement letter.
13. What areas do you serve?
We are located in El Segundo, CA, but serve the county of Los Angeles including the greater Los Angeles area. This includes El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance, Carson, Gardena, Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Orange County, and Southern California in general.