When a Young Child is Involved, A Trust Can Be Critically Important
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by Chris Johnson
3M ago
Trust funds definitely get a bad rap. Contrary to the gossipy headlines about the Hollywood set, these funds aren’t just reserved for spoiled brats who don’t want the daily 9-to-5 to cut into their party lifestyles. Actually, the decision to use a trust for a child—especially when that child is a minor—can be a very shrewd and wise move that will set them up for future success as adults. Trusts are tailored to fit the trustor’s wishes, and that includes identifying the beneficiaries as well as setting down the requirements for these beneficiaries to receive any assets from the trust. Setting ..read more
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Give Up Control of Your Assets? If You Want An Irrevocable Trust, That’s What You Have to Do
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by Chris Johnson
3M ago
Here’s a riddle for you: What do stone cutters and irrevocable trusts have in common? Answer: the phrase “carved in stone.” Ok, like most Dad jokes, that riddle’s not funny, but the punchline is true. When it comes to chipping and shaping a block of stone or the requirements behind an irrevocable trust, neither one can be changed once it’s been executed. (Well, that’s not exactly true—irrevocable trusts can be changed, but it’s incredibly hard to do. More on that later.) An irrevocable trust is different from the one that most people use, which is a revocable one (that means the trustor can r ..read more
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Trusts, Dynasty Trusts, and Helping Your Descendants
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by Chris Johnson
4M ago
Trusts usually don’t last forever. They’re not like reruns of NBC’s “Friends,” which our children’s children’s grandchildren will be watching when they’re living in space stations orbiting the moon. There’s a simple reason why they don’t last: Trusts usually end when the creator of the trust dies and the trustee distributes the trust’s assets. With the trust emptied of its assets, it doesn’t have a useful purpose anymore. Death, however, isn’t the only way that a trust ends. It also happens when trusts are designed with a specified end date or require that certain conditions be met before the ..read more
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Jimi’s Big Mistake
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by admin
3y ago
When he departed this life for the big guitar center in the sky, rock musician Jimi Hendrix left a recording legacy that has grown over time. Something else has grown over time, too: a string of lawsuits among his family members along with other costs related to that legacy. Hendrix never set up a trust (or, for that matter, a will; he was too busy jamming and kissing the sky) and the years since his death at 27 in 1970 have been crowded with bitter lawsuits as his relatives have fought for control. That’s a serious problem considering that Hendrix’s death hasn’t stopped him from being one of ..read more
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Two Scary Words—and How A Trust Protects You
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by StebbinsMedia
3y ago
Most people know that revocable trusts are designed to protect assets from probate, but there’s another situation that most people probably don’t think about and that involves two chilling words. Medi-Cal recovery. What’s that? It means that if someone is sick and Medi-Cal covers his or her medical expenses, the state is able to recover the costs of providing that health assistance from their assets after they die, or, if they transfer those assets to a spouse, from the spouse’s estate when they die. For the trust’s beneficiaries, it can result in a very unexpected bill later when the executo ..read more
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Your Intentions Might Be Good Enough … Thanks to the Heggstad Petition
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by admin
3y ago
“The road to hell,” the old saying goes, “is paved with good intentions.” So, it seems, are some people’s estate plans. Who doesn’t know someone who wanted to make an important addition to their estate plans (like moving a piece of property into their trust) but died before they could do it? There are plenty of reasons why this happens—ever heard of “human nature” or “procrastination” before? The prospect of contacting a lawyer and dealing with the time and paperwork involved to make these changes can be discouraging for a settlor. It can also be especially discouraging if he or she is coping ..read more
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Take A Lesson From Ben Franklin: Make A List!
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by admin
3y ago
When it comes to your financial peace of mind, especially what will happen to your assets after the inevitable happens one day (either via natural causes or a falling piano), you might take some inspiration for your estate planning from the one and only Benjamin Franklin. Franklin is known for wearing many hats: as a celebrated inventor, politician, diplomat, printer, philosopher, and author. He was also known as a faithful maker of lists. Franklin kept lists of everything. He wanted to make sure he maximized his time, including when to sleep, eat, and even when to take a bath. He kept invent ..read more
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Divorce, Estate Planning & Easy Riders: Some Uncomfortable Facts
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by admin
3y ago
Dennis Hopper in “Easy Rider” (1969) When you’re going through a divorce, there are many things to consider, and one of the most important is to carefully review your estate plan. Why? Because your estate plan was probably drawn up in much better days when you never dreamed of divorcing your spouse. Now that your relationship has changed and a divorce seems likely, it’s crucial to make a close review of your plan, how assets are distributed, and who the beneficiaries are. If you don’t, you could be very sorry. Just look at the situation of the late Dennis Hopper. The 74-year-old actor and star ..read more
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Shield Your Large Estate from Coming Changes to Federal Estate and Gift Tax Exemptions
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by Chris Johnson
3y ago
Remember the Y2K scare? If you’re of a certain age, then you probably recall the blood-chilling fear that our vast global financial network wouldn’t be able to handle a simple date change from the year 1999 to 2000. As Dick Clark prepared for another of his rockin’ New Year’s Eve parties, computer experts and financial analysts weren’t feeling so festive. They were gravely concerned that everything—including banking infrastructures—would get wiped out when the digits flipped from “99” to double zero in most systems. It would be like the world stepped into a time machine—at least, that’s what ..read more
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Can I Completely Avoid the Probate Process?
Christopher Johnson | Pasadena, CA Estate Planning Attorney
by Chris Johnson
4y ago
To hear some people describe it, going through probate makes root canal surgery or a trip to the DMV seem like a vacation. Sure, it involves things most people would like to avoid—attorney and court fees, court appearances, and paperwork—but probate is actually a very fair and logical process that gets a very bad rap. If you don’t have a trust, you’re going to have to accept reality: probate is the likely only way to determine who receives ownership of your assets after your death. Still, there are some estate situations where the probate process can’t be erased, but it can be minimized. Smal ..read more
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