Denebeim Law Firm

If you pass away with no estate plan, a California court decides what happens to everything you own. That includes your house, your money, your belongings, even your minor children—all of it. The process is slow, expensive, and public. And your family has no say. An estate plan puts you in charge of that instead of a judge. That's really what it comes down to. What is An Estate?  An estate is everything you own. From your car to your social media accounts to your pets, everyt

Creating a trust is a great first step in creating an estate plan . But, there is a catch that many people don’t realize, which leads to the complete invalidity of it. And that is: a trust doesn’t actually do  anything unless it’s funded. A lot of people assume that once they sign their trust documents, everything is automatically taken care of. But really, a trust only works if assets are properly moved into it.  The Big Picture: What Does “Funding” a Trust Mean? Funding a t

If you’ve just been named a trustee, you might be wondering, “What exactly am I supposed to do now?” Well, there’s a name for your job, and it’s called trust administration. Trust administration is the process of managing and settling a trust after the person who created it has passed away. If you’re reading this, you’re probably a trustee, which means it’s your role to follow the instructions given in the trust, protect the assets, pay any required bills or taxes, and then d