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McNichol & Tillem
Len Tillem and Rosie McNichol are elder law attorneys. Contact them at 846 Broadway, Sonoma, CA 95476, by phone at 996-4505, or lentillem.com. Len also answers legal questions each weekday, noon to 12:45 p.m., and Sundays, 4-7 p.m., on KGO Radio 810 AM.
July 3rd, 2009
A friend in needDear Len & Rosie, I have a friend who is dying of cancer. Doctors have given her two months to live. She has no will or living trust. She has no estate, but does have furniture that is worth maybe $5,000. Can I create a videotape of her stating what she would like done with her belongings?
June 26th, 2009
Create a dynasty trustDear Len & Rosie, We have three grown children with children of their own and we have a trust. We want our children to be the beneficiaries but want to set it up so that, should they divorce, the spouse would not have a right to the inheritance.
June 19th, 2009
Medi-Cal eligibilityDear Len & Rosie,
June 12th, 2009
No capital gains tax will have to be paidDear Len & Rosie, Mother passed away two months ago. We just found the deed to the house. All five names were on the deed — mom and the four kids. When we sell the house do we have to pay capital gains tax? If so how much? - Judy
June 5th, 2009
Brother seems to have exceeded his authorityDear Len & Rosie, After my father’s death, my mother gave my brother, Stephen, a durable power of attorney. Mom was never all that good with finances, and all of us agreed that it would be better for Stephen to take care of things in case anything bad happened to her.
May 29th, 2009
Making sure daughter will get her fair shareDear Len & Rosie, My husband and I have wills, but he wants to get a trust, to save probate fees, he said. We have had our wills for more than 30 years and my daughter is listed as our executor.
May 22nd, 2009
Husband dies without a willDear Len & Rosie, I have a friend who is in her 70s. Her husband passed away three months ago. She and her husband got married in 2008, but had lived together for 30 years. He owned the house in his name alone.
May 15th, 2009
What is inherited is separate propertyDear Len & Rosie, My sister and I inherited a $2 million apartment building. My wife of 31 years and I have a trust. I have no problem adding her name to the deed as a trustee, but could I stipulate in an agreement with my wife that if she asked me for a divorce down the road she would give the property back to me? -- Douglas
May 9th, 2009
Care, support for disabled sisterDear Len & Rosie, I am the trustee of my recently deceased mother’s trust, which includes a special needs trust for my disabled sister, Judith, who is on Medi-Cal and Supplemental Security Income. Both before and after our mother’s death, my sister has rented a property owned by the trust. As trustee, can I pay off the mortgage on this property and turn it over to my sister while staying in compliance with the terms of the trust? -- Ben
May 1st, 2009
Selecting a guardian for kidsDear Len & Rosie, We’re a young couple that just had a daughter three months ago. We have outdated wills, and we’ve been looking at trusts and wills since before our daughter was born.
April 24th, 2009
Good start to avoiding probateDear Len & Rosie,
April 17th, 2009
Outside the trustDear Len & Rosie, My husband died three weeks ago. He had a trust of his own. If he has some accounts that are not in the trust, and have no beneficiary listed, who inherits those? He has two sons. I, his wife, am co-executor of his will and co-trustee of his trust with his oldest son. -- Margot
April 10th, 2009
Trustee has a fiduciary dutyMcNichol & Tillem
April 3rd, 2009
Custodian worried about daughter’s trustDear Len & Rosie, I am the custodian for a $55,000 Uniform Transfers to Minors Act account for my 16-year-old daughter that was given to her by her now-deceased grandparents. My daughter is supposed to use it to pay for her education. But at this point in time, she wants to buy a car, move into an apartment on her own, and, no doubt, party until the cows come home.
March 27th, 2009
Take care of your trustDear Len & Rosie, My husband and I have a living trust that includes a family limited partnership for rental houses and my one-person business corporation. I have concerns that things might not have been completed. For example, the living trust has a Schedule A with our assets listed, but I’ve heard that my corporate stock needs to be assigned to the living trust and that the properties need to be deeded. Is this true? How do I do this? -- Karen
March 20th, 2009
Father-in-law is no dummyDear Len & Rosie, My father-in-law is a shrewd businessman who owns hundreds of acres of land and is worth millions.
March 13th, 2009
Parents have rental propertyDear Len & Rosie, My grandmother died several years ago and left her house to my mother. The house was rented out since my parents live in another house.
March 6th, 2009
Mom needs constant careDear Len & Rosie, My mother is at a stage where she requires constant care. I have hired a round-the-clock geriatric care agency to look after mom. This is naturally very expensive.
February 27th, 2009
Proper estate planningDear Len & Rosie, My father has added my sister to the deed of his house. He is very ill and may soon be placed in long-term care.
February 20th, 2009
Getting help for motherDear Len & Rosie, My mother is very young, only 60 years old, but she has a degenerative brain disorder that has caused early dementia.
February 14th, 2009
Attorney can help when mom diesDear Len & Rosie, My mother named my sister and me as successor co-trustees in her revocable living trust; and co-executors in her will.
February 13th, 2009
Attorney can help when mom diesDear Len & Rosie, My mother named my sister and me as successor co-trustees in her revocable living trust; and co-executors in her will. We are the only heirs and will split her property 50/50. My question is, upon my mother’s passing, do we need to register with the probate court to be able to disburse her property? Her estate is less than $3 million (that includes her home owned free and clear) and there’s no dispute as to who inherits what. We’d rather do this ourselves and not use an attorney.
February 6th, 2009
At very least, have a willDear Len & Rosie, My husband of 30 years recently passed away without a will. Our home is in joint tenancy, so I know that an affidavit of death of joint tenant should be recorded with the county recorder. Our cars were titled in both our names, and all our bank accounts were also joint tenancies. Other than a small IRA, of which I am listed as the beneficiary, everything was in both of our names. As I see it, all of our assets now will pass to me and there is simply no estate to probate. Or am I over-simplifying things?
January 30th, 2009
No need to put daughter on deedDear Len & Rosie, My husband passed away in 2004. Both he and I are on the deed to our home. I already have a living trust and a pour-over will made out with my daughter inheriting the home. If I changed the deed and had her name added to the deed, would this assure her that the house wouldn’t go into probate? Or should I leave the deed as it is right now? Maybe the house is worth about $350,000 or $400,000 now. What would the tax ramifications be for me and for her. -- Anne
January 23rd, 2009
It's best to shelter homeDear Len & Rosie, I’m writing in regard to a very good friend. Her husband died two years ago after spending a year in a nursing home. He was a recipient of Medi-Cal. After his death, the state sent out an estate claim form asking about his assets.
January 16th, 2009
Heir ticked off by clock giveawayDear Len & Rosie, My aunt died and named her brother as executor. He gave a family heirloom, my grandfather’s clock, to the real estate agent who will be selling the house, even though both my cousin and I expressed in writing that we wanted it. I don’t really care who gets it, as long as it stays in the family, and this real estate agent is not family. He is a friend of my uncle.
January 9th, 2009
Son upset there's another womanDear Len & Rosie, My father died recently and the court made me the executor of his estate. I am the last survivor of his four children. My mother died many years ago. I thought I would inherit the entire estate, after Dad’s credit cards were paid off.
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