Trust Administration Help

I have just developed a NEW Trust Administration Notebook for surviving trustees and successor trustees when one or both trustees have passed away or have become unable to handle their own finances. This resource manual has specific information about the trust you are administering, checklists, investment guidelines, duty chart, "how to" guide for accountings, samples, forms, etc. IF you are administering a trust that has become irrevocable, this guide will be of great value to you to help keep you out of "trouble" by giving you the specific information and assistance you need to administer your trust successfully. Call me at 760-930-9668 for more information.

IRAs - Who should be the Beneficiary?

IRA Beneficiaries: The IRS is at it again making things difficult for people who want to name their trust as a beneficiary. Although it is ALLOWED to name a trust as a beneficiary, using the language that I have supplied to you in the past, the IRS seems to be taking the position in recent letter rulings, that if you do, the Minimum Required Distributions will be based upon the age of the OLDEST beneficiary. If you have a large sum in IRAs, you should review this with your tax adviser before naming or keeping the Trust as the beneficiary.

Property Transfer at Death

PROP 13: Upon death of the last Grantor to die, if real property will be transferred to a child or grandchild, it is necessary to file for a property tax re-assessment exclusion. Failure to do so could result in a substantial increase in property taxes. Ask your attorney for more information or contact the county tax assessor for forms and information.

CA Property Transfers to Grandchildren

Propositions 58 & 1931. These constitutional initiatives provide property tax relief for real property transfers between parents and children and from grandparents to grandchildren. In general, Proposition 58 states that real property transfers, from parent to child or child to parent, may be excluded from reassessment. Proposition 193 expands this tax relief to include transfers from grandparent(s) to grandchild(ren). In both cases, a claim must be filed within three years of the date of transfer to receive the full benefit of the exclusion. To take advantage of this you MUST file a “Claim for Reassessment Exclusion” available from the County Tax Assessor.

Community Property With Right of Survivorship

Community Property with Right of Survivorship: This is a relatively new form of property ownership (July 2001) in California and it looks like a good bet for most married couples. It provides all the benefits of both community property and joint tenancy.

Community Property derives from the Mexican or Spanish Civil Law, rather than the English Common Law, that most of the laws in the United States come from.

Community Property is loosely defined as any property acquired during a marriage, except from gifts or inheritance. Couples can agree in writing to re-categorize property they own as separate or community as they see fit.