Practical guidance on estate planning, trusts, probate, bankruptcy, and asset protection in California. Published by Maria V. Primushko, Esq.
He died at 35. She had the wedding photos and none of the rights.
Everyone wanted the kids. Nobody was allowed to take them.
A regular Wednesday afternoon. The parents never came home.
Being his wife did not give her the authority to act.
The note on your fridge that keeps the police out of it.
Joint accounts were the only thing she could touch.
One form keeps CPS out of your child's first night.
Who does the babysitter call at midnight?
Write down who you do NOT want raising your kids.
If it is not in the file, the judge cannot use it.
Ten relatives appeared after the house had already sold.
I would rather you decide than a judge.
How a trust gave a mother hope for her son.
Who talks to your bank when you cannot?
A judge, or you. Who picks the guardian?
A funeral photo and nothing else means the plan worked.
The letter to the guardian only you can write.
Tell them before the court does.
Doing nothing costs $56,000 and 18 months.
Estate planning is an act of love.
Estate planning is an act of love.
In a blended family, joint tenancy picks a winner.
Ready at 18, or not ready at 35. You decide.
Whoever raises a hand first. Unless you decided.
Anything that goes through court is public. Including this.
Help your kids. Do not sponsor them.
The four documents, in 26 seconds.
Why I do this.
Fifty-six thousand dollars, and that is before court costs.
Court authority is public. Yours does not have to be.
When did you last check who you named?
No plan means the state's plan.
Protect the parent, protect the child.
At 18 they get all of it. Every dollar.
Their will still names guardians for adults.
Their own bed. Their own school. Their own people.
Hours, days, or fifteen years. Who is in charge?
They said it was too expensive. Four years later, dementia.
The day it lands, creditors can reach it.
Four documents stand between your family and a courtroom.
An unfunded trust still goes through probate.
You already have a plan. The state wrote it.
Your child’s divorce should not reach your legacy.
Medicare will not cover long-term care. Plan accordingly.
Probate fees are calculated on gross value, not your equity.
18 months is the version where everyone gets along.
He is contesting the will from prison. It has been a year.
This probate bills $40,000. I’d rather have written four plans.
A will is instructions to a court, not a way around one.
“Mom, you could have just said no.”
You decide when they are ready, not the calendar.
A letter names your trust, your property, and a processing fee of $132 for a copy of your own deed. Los Angeles County sells the same certified copy for $6. What the law requires that letter to disclose, and what to do if you paid.
A caller needed a few changes to his living trust and was surprised by the quotes. Why a new attorney cannot simply edit a few words, and why the cheapest plan often ends up costing the most.
Two families called us in one week with the same story: a parent, a charming stranger online, and money leaving the account. What California law lets a family do, and the preparation that changes the ending.
At 18 your child becomes a legal adult, and you lose the automatic right to speak with their doctors or step in during an emergency. The four documents that fix it, before the school year starts.
Enter your estate value and instantly see California's statutory probate fees, then decide whether you would rather keep that number. Interactive calculator inside.
High limits, collision, comprehensive, rental, uninsured motorist, and MedPay in plain English, plus the new 30/60/15 minimum and why it is rarely enough.
A new driver raises what your whole family could lose. The coverage that protects you, and the exact steps a teen should take at a crash scene.
One in six California drivers is uninsured. When one hits you, your own UM and UIM coverage is often the only thing that pays. Here is how it works.
Joint tenancy only works if one owner survives the other. When both owners are gone at once, the survivorship shortcut fails, and the home lands in probate twice.
The short phrase after your names on the deed decides who controls your home, what happens at death, and how much tax your family pays. Here is what each vesting really means.
Everyone says you should have one. Few can explain it. The plain-English version: what a living trust is, what it does that a will cannot, and who actually needs one.
Adding someone to your deed feels like easy estate planning. Why it can mean probate anyway, gift taxes, lost tax breaks, and exposure to the other owner's debts.
A calm, step-by-step guide to protecting your health, your rights, and your injury claim in the first days after a crash.
Most injury victims have two years to file, but some deadlines are far shorter. Learn the rules and the exceptions before time runs out.
You came to California and built a business and a life. A living trust protects what you earned, keeps it private, and passes it to the people you choose.
California statutory fees, timelines, and the hidden costs of dying without a trust, with a real cost breakdown for a typical Los Angeles estate.
Online templates are cheap because they are built for the simplest case. Here is what you are really paying for with a properly funded living trust.
Unmarried parents do not get the legal defaults marriage provides. How a living trust protects your children and lets your partner stay in the home.
Planning to marry in California? How to protect the home, savings, and business you built before the relationship, and why the timing matters.
California probate is a public court process. What becomes public record, who can see and contest it, and how a living trust keeps your estate private.
From the Parents Edition workshop: the first hours, weeks, months, and fifteen years without a plan, and the seven documents that keep those decisions with you.
They are the same thing in California, but the terminology confusion hides a more important question. Here is what actually matters when choosing between revocable and irrevocable.
Full probate, public records, 12 to 18 months, and $46,000 in statutory fees on a $1 million estate. The complete cost of skipping the trust.
Durable POA, advance healthcare directive, and HIPAA authorization. Without them, your family ends up in conservatorship court.
The PC 16061.7 beneficiary notice has a 60-day deadline. Here is the day-by-day checklist most new trustees wish someone had handed them.
Parental authority ends at midnight on the 18th birthday. The 6-month filing window for limited conservatorship is the cliff most families do not see coming.
One is initiated by the county. The other by anyone. One is for grave mental disability. The other for dementia or developmental conditions. Filing the wrong type costs months.
Standard conservatorship takes 60 to 90 days. The ex parte emergency petition under PC 2250 gets you legal authority in days when the crisis cannot wait.
Five less-restrictive alternatives, the 60-year window, and why AB 1663 supported decision-making changed the playing field in 2023.
The BAPCPA means test, the California median income comparison, and the disposable income test. A step-by-step walkthrough.
Lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, improper execution, and revocation. The 120-day deadline under PC 8270 you cannot miss.
QTIP trusts, separate vs. community property, and how to ensure every family member is protected in your estate plan.
Probate fees, court costs, family disputes, and lost privacy. Real dollar examples for a $1M estate in California.
Comparing pooled trust structures with individual SNTs. Cost, flexibility, and when to use each option.
The automatic stay, your FDCPA rights, and how Chapter 7 discharge can end collection calls for good.
Cryptocurrency, social media accounts, and California's RUFADAA. How to include digital assets in your trust.
Eligibility rules, look-back periods, irrevocable trusts for Medi-Cal, and spousal protections in California.
Trustee duties, notification requirements under Probate Code 16061.7, asset inventory, and distribution timelines.
Asset protection, estate tax reduction, Medi-Cal planning, and when irrevocable is better than revocable.
Legal vs. physical custody, nomination strategies, backup guardians, and avoiding family disputes in California.
Buy-sell agreements, LLC structuring, key person insurance, and irrevocable life insurance trusts for entrepreneurs.
Advance directives, POLST forms, agent selection, HIPAA authorization, and California's legal requirements.
The 2021 expansion, current LA County limits, automatic vs. declared exemptions, and what homestead protects.
First-party vs. third-party SNTs, pooled trusts, ABLE accounts, and preserving SSI and Medi-Cal benefits.
LLCs, irrevocable trusts, homestead exemptions, and the three-layer asset protection strategy.
When conservatorship is needed, the petition process, court investigations, and alternatives to consider first.
Intestate succession rules, community vs. separate property, and why unmarried partners get nothing.
Eligibility, the means test, discharge timelines, property protection, and California-specific exemptions.
Probate costs 4 to 8% of your estate and takes 12 to 18 months. Here are the strategies to avoid it entirely.
Living trust, pour-over will, power of attorney, healthcare directive, and HIPAA authorization explained.
Understanding revocable living trusts, how they avoid probate, and whether your California family needs one.