In end-of-life planning, the person will usually choose who gets what from their assets and property via a trust, insurance policy, or other estate planning tool. The person or persons on the receiving end are called beneficiaries as they benefit from the instrument. What are the Different Types of Beneficiaries That Exist? A beneficiary can…
Continue reading ›Usually, a decedent has a valid legal will or estate upon their death which indicates how they want their assets distributed. Intestacy refers to someone who dies without a will. This means how their assets are distributed will be decided by the probate court. The probate process requires the court to determine whether someone died…
Continue reading ›“Who” gets “what” is the most important part of creating a will, trust, or other similar instrument. Often the terms heirs and beneficiaries come up and can be disputed during the probate process. The two terms often are mentioned in the same document and can seem like they refer to the same people. However, while…
Continue reading ›A trust is a legal device that is commonly used in estate planning. A trust represents “a collection of assets and liabilities” that can be held and transferred by an individual to another individual, the “beneficiary.” (Portico Mgmt. Grp., LLC v. Harrison (2011) 202 Cal.App.4th 464, 473.) When the trustee, the person responsible for managing…
Continue reading ›When a loved one passes away, probate proceedings are hopefully not the first thing on their relatives’ minds. Probate is, however, an inevitability, even when a trust is present and effective. But inheritance is not always the blessing that the public conscious imagines it to be. The simple truth is that owning property in California…
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