(805) 374-8777
Deciding whether you should appoint co-trustees vs a single trustee to manage your trust should be taken seriously, and it is encouraged that you seek the guidance and counsel of an experienced estate planning attorney.
Once your child turns 18, they are defined under the law as adults. Smart and conscientious professionals know that it is a misconception that you have to be old or rich to have an estate plan. Often, having an estate plan is part and parcel of accumulating wealth, which in the past would have signaled the need for an estate plan. An estate plan can give young adults peace of mind, can reduce family conflicts, and protect assets.
Given the ever-increasing values of our properties, people are likely worth much more than they realize, and when measured against the very low statutory limits it is imperative to act now to set up an estate plan. Property values in California have gone up every decade in the last 100 years. It is the single largest contributor to household wealth. For people who purchased their homes when having babies, if their kids are grown, their homes may have doubled in value. If their kids have kids, their houses may be worth three to four times the purchase value, particularly in hot real estate markets like the California Coast.
Writing a trust is only half the battle. Once the trust is written, all designated assets of the settlor or grantor must be moved/retitled into the name of the trust. To take a simple example, if you write a trust for the benefit of your children and want your house to be distributed to them upon your death, you must change the title of the house so that the trust is, in effect, the owner. Thus, in California, proper trust funding in this hypothetical situation would include executing, notarizing, and recording a new grant deed in the name of “the Trust” with the county recorder where the property is located. The owner grants the property to the trust, and this is reflected in their respective titles– grantor and grantee. This would hold true for most real property assets that you intend to be part of the trust.
Friends and family have asked us repeatedly when a person or couple should start their estate plan. The short answer is always the same- right now! Of course, we hasten to add to minors and people just getting started with financial…