San Diego Estate Planning Attorney Blog

Audrey J. Grossman of the Grossman Law Firm will be speaking at National Business Institute's "Refining Estate Administration" seminar in San Diego, California on March 23, 2010.

About the Seminar: Are you equipped to efficiently take estates through probate while still preserving an inheritance for beneficiaries? Learn how to quickly resolve cases in probate, resolve accounting, tax and other estate administration issues, how to avoid probate and other valuable information relating to estate administration. Join us and receive practical procedural tips shared by experienced practitioners that will assist you in handling the critical details and functions of a successful probate practice.

March 23, 2010 at the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter: 401 K Street, San Diego, CA 92101. (619) 231-4040.

Registration 8:30 A.M - 9:00 A.M.
Program: 9:00 A.M. - 4:30 P.M.

This is an intermediate level seminar designed for those specializing in estate planning and administration. Seminar led by: Meredith G. Alcock, Esq.; Audrey J. Grossman, Esq.; David P. Jones II, Esq.; and, Daniel K. Printz, Esq.

6.0 units of CLE for Attorneys and Paralegals. 6.0 units of specialization in the area of estate planning for the California Board of Legal Specialization.

Cost: $339 first attendee; $329 each additional. Manual only: $99. CD and Manual only: $199.

Enroll now!

Even the King of Pop's Estate has its money worries. As a San Diego Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, I have followed news coverage of Michael Jackson's estate closely. Administrators of Michael Jackson's Estate have recovered money from former advisors, and entered into merchandising and other deals in order to marshall assets to cover debts which total in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

One of the core responsibilities of the executors or administrators of an estate is to inventory and collect assets and pay off debts, and in doing so to manage the estate in a prudent manner so as to preserve assets as much as possible for the beneficiaries.
As seen in the case of Michael Jackson, solvency isn't just a concern of smaller estates.

In my San Diego estate planning law practice, I advise my clients to carefully consider their choice of executor and trustee. Administering an estate or trust is a serious job with serious responsibilities, and should be given to someone with the skills and judgment to effectively manage the estate. One option to be considered is the appointment of a professional fiduciary (which could be a bank trust officer, financial advisor, attorney or other professional fiduciary) to serve either alone or as a co-executor or co-trustee along with a friend or family member.

I have learned many things from my Aunt Mimi: how to travel well, how to truly enjoy a nice glass of wine, an appreciation for great classical music. . . But one of the most valuable lessons she has taught me came after she was gone. I am a San Diego estate planning and probate lawyer and I have lots of experience advising clients regarding setting up wills and trusts, and administering probate estates and trusts. But when my Aunt Mimi passed away earlier this year, I was on the proverbial other side of the desk. I was the client. Mimi had named me and my sister as co-executors of her estate and co-trustees of her living trust.

Now my sister and I had the challenge that all of my clients have faced - to gather information and documentation of all of Aunt Mimi's assets and liabilities so that we could commence the arduous task of administering her estate. Mimi made that easy for us. Don't just stop at setting up an estate plan. Help your loved ones by taking these steps to get and stay organized:

1. Keep a list of all of your assets, and update it regularly: bank accounts, investments, real estate, insurance policies, vehicles, and other valuables.

2. Keep an up-to-date list of all of your financial advisors, brokers and insurance agents, with their information, and keep it up to date.

3. Keep an up-to-date list of your liabilities and the remaining principal balances: mortgages, credit cards, car loans, and other debts.

3. Name beneficiaries for your retirement accounts and insurance policies.

4. Talk to your named trustees, executors and attorneys-of-fact about your plans and give them copies of your estate planning documents.

5. Keep copies of your most recent bank and investment account statements, mortgage and other loan statements, in an organized file.

6. Keep copies of your tax returns for at least the past 2 years.

7. Prepare a "letter to your loved ones" summarizing your last wishes as well as information about all of your accounts, advisors and any other information that will help them administer your trust and estate, and give a copy to your executors and trustees.

8. Carry a wallet card with you that lists the contact information for the person whom you have designated in your medical directives, so that emergency medical personnel will know who to contact in the event of an emergency.

A Los Angeles, California court recently established a conservatorship over actor Peter Falk, appointing Falk's wife as his conservator and granting visitation rights to his daughter.

What is a conservatorship? It is a formal legal proceeding in which a conservator - most often a spouse, partner, family member, close friend or professional caregiver - is appointed by the probate court to make decisions for an adult who is unable to care for or make decisions for themselves. In Falk's case, according to testimony from one of his doctors during the two-day conservatorship hearing, a conservatorship was needed because the actor suffered from advanced dementia, likely resulting from Alzheimer's disease.

A conservatorship is a very serious matter in that it actually removes or restricts the conservatee's rights relating either to his or her own personal care and health-care (Conservatorship of the Person), financial matters (Conservatorship of the Estate), or both (Conservatorship of the Person and the Estate). For a combined conservatorship of the Person and Estate, the court may appoint separate conservators for the person and for the estate, or a single conservator for both.

A conservatorship can be tailored to the specific needs of the person to be protected, and can be limited where, for instance, a developmentally disabled is able to manage certain aspects of their daily life and/or finances, but needs assistance with certain other matters. Another form of Conservatorship, know as an "LPS Conservatorship" is available for a person who is seriously impaired by a mental disorder and who may need to be admitted to a locked mental health facility.

While a Conservatorship is a useful and often necessary tool allowing you to care for and protect loved ones who are incapacitated, it is also costly, time-consuming and public. A person can take steps to avoid being placed in a conservatorship, or at a minimum designate the person who they would want to have appointed as a conservator, by working with an estate planning attorney to prepare a comprehensive estate plan which may include a durable general power of attorney, an advanced health care directive, a living trust and a will.

'Columbo' Star Peter Falk Placed Under Conservatorship, Entertainment Tonight, June 2, 2009