Families with infants, young children & parents with a baby on the way will find something special at The Family Swap Meet.  I usually have a booth myself, stop by and say ‘hi’ where you see the Daniel K. Printz, Esq. banner.

Sunday, June 24, 2012
9:00am – 1:00pm

Canyon Crest Academy in Carmel Valley
5951 E Village Center Loop Rd
San Diego, CA 92130-2499

Admission is $2 per person (under 12 years old free). No pre-registration is required for attendees. For info, call 858-626-6944.

A Living Estate is what we own while we are alive. All of those things that go into  your financial junk drawer: your cash, real property, vehicles, jewelery, 401K accounts, etc., are part of your living estate. Some folks don’t think their living estate amounts to much, or feel that with student loans, underwater real estate, they might actually have a negative net worth.

New parents unfortunately don’t realize their living estate could be much more than they think. One father-to-be told me: “I don’t have an estate, why do I need a trust?”

The Father-To-Be.

“Daniel, I am a father-to-be, but I don’t have much money. Do I need a trust?” You do have a lot of money. Or, to be more accurate, you can make sure that if you are taken out of your child’s life they have more than enough money to get by. You can fund your Living Estate with basic term life insurance. Very inexpensive, especially for young, healthy parents. Contact a life insurance agent, or ask me for a referral, and just find out how much a simple 15-year term life insurance policy would be. Then, if you die and your child is orphaned, there will be a pool of assets your child’s trustee can pull from for her education, medical care, etc. This will be your child’s Trust Fund.

Trust Fund?

You bet. Trust funds are just for the Mitt Romneys of the world. If you have a term life insurance policy, or assets of your own, your money will go into a trust fund for your child until he or she reaches the ages you designate. While the trust fund is active, the trustee can pull from it to pay for her education, as we mentioned above, and other purposes. Then, the principal will go to your child when you want it to. It’s popular now to have the trust fund distribute out in three stages: for example, 33% at age 21, 33% at age 25, and the balance at age 30.

But don’t think you can, or should set this up yourself. Find a San Diego estate planning attorney to help you out.

San Diego Estate Planning Attorney?

Absolutely. A San Diego estate planning attorney has the expertise to create a trust into which you will transfer your living estate. Everything remains your money, managed and accessable only by you, but on your death the trust will create a trust fund for your beneficiary (your child).

“San Diego-based estate planning lawyer Daniel Printz tells us the myriad of things to be aware of when drawing up a Will, especially in the areas of child guardianship and business succession. Some of the case studies may highlight unfortunate situations, but fortunately for you listeners this was one of our best, most informative interviews thus far. We highly recommend sharing it with your friends and family!”

For a Rocket Lawyer podcast, this interview was fairly long; 23 of the 32-minute podcast consisted of my interview.  Rocket Lawyer is focusing on April as “Make-a-Will Month,” and I couldn’t be happier to be a part of it. 

HERE IS A LINK TO THE PODCAST: 22 Ep 20_ A Series Of Unfortunate Events – Make A Will Edition

Wills are, after all, probably the best bang for the buck in the estate planning arena.  Because of competition from online services, attorneys have dropped their prices for attorney-drafted wills to the point where it has essentially become a loss-leader.

Even so, it’s a vital piece of estate planning package, especially for parents with minor children who need to designate a guardian of the person and a guardian of the estate. While almost everyone could benefit from more sophisticated estate planning than a will allows, it is certainly true that a will is better than  no planning at all!

Wills with guardianship provisions for minor children can usually be drafted and executed in a single day. If you’re interested in finding out about our low prices for simple wills, give us a call right now at (858) 720-8250 – just ask for Daniel.

Despite the fact that 60% of Americans don’t have a basic will, they are very useful documents!  In addition to dictating where your property is to go when you die, and nominating an executor to handle your estate, the will is where parents of minor children nominate guardians to care for their children. 

Some attorneys prefer to have wills witnessed by three persons just in case, but it’s not necessary. If one of the witnesses turns out to be an ‘interested’ witness (in other words, stands to benefit from the will), the will is still valid, but the witness will be presumed to have obtained his bequest by duress or oppression, and will be prevented from inheriting unless he can rebut that presumption, or unless there are two other non-interested witnesses.

California also accepts ‘holographic wills,’ documents that are not witnessed, but where the signature and all substantive provisions are in the testator’s handwriting. However, courts are suspicious of these holographic wills and subject them to strict scrutiny.  When it comes to wills, I suggest you hire an attorney to draft you a simple will, or use an online service. If you use an online service, PLEASE have a lawyer look at the will afterwards to make sure you completed it correctly!

“My daughter has her biological father’s last name, but he isn’t on her birth certificate. He isn’t involved in her life. My husband wants to adopt her but we’re not sure what all we have to do in order to get it done. Also, my husband is in the military and we are currently living in California. My daughter, however, was born in Texas, which is also where her biological father is. Do we have to go by Texas laws? or California?”

And my answer:

“Unless your daughter is the subject of an ongoing family law case in Texas, jurisdiction in California is appropriate.  You will work with the Superior Court of the County in which you are living.  You will complete California mandatory forms Adopt-200 (to submit at hearing) Adopt-210 (to sign in court) and Adopt-215 (for the judge to sign).

You’ll take the forms to court and pay a filing fee. Soon thereafter, a social worker will meet with you and then write a report. When you receive a copy of the report, you’ll ask for a hearing date. Assuming all is well, you will bring the child with you to court on the hearing date, along with all of the forms, assorted friends/family, and at least one camera, and the three of you will leave court with a new familial relationship (and often with a new Teddy Bear for your daughter).

Best wishes to you.”

So you see… adoption can be a relatively straightforward and painless process, especially where one parent doesn’t need to be consulted – as he was left off the birth certificate!

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network with over 65 million members and growing rapidly. LinkedIn connects you to your trusted contacts and helps you exchange knowledge, ideas, and opportunities with a broader network of professionals.

Within LinkedIn is a Group designed exclusively for members of The Parent Connection to network professionally. In order to be accepted to the group, you must be a current member.

Joining is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Create a professional profile at LinkedIn.Com.
2. Search under Groups for The Parent Connection.
3. Apply for membership.

Confused? Contact me directly at daniel@TheLegacyLawyer.com or Ann Carey-Scott at anncareyscott@san.rr.com for help.

See you online!
Daniel K. Printz, Esq.

Speaker Daniel K. Printz, Esq., teaches “Estates, Wills and Trusts’ in the University of San Diego’s intensive paralegal program. He will speak on the essentials of estate planning for young families at this seminar – free for Parent Connection members and $10 for non-members.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010. 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  Scripps Coastal Medical Center. 2176 Salk Avenue, Carlsbad, CA 92008.  South Entrance.

To register, use this link and find our seminar “Wills and Trusts” through the pull-down menu: http://www.sandiegoparent.com/TPC/event/signup.html

• What is a guardian?
• How do I nominate a guardian?
• How do I choose a guardian for my child?

If you are interested in learning more about Guardianships and/or nominating a guardian for your child, see my powerpoint presentation – “Introduction to Guardianships”, available through Google Documents.

Want more information? Call the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz at (858) 740-4370.

Life insurance is a fantastic tool for these families.  While they remain relatively young and healthy, life insurance can be inexpensive and easy to qualify for.

I recommend obtaining life insurance sufficient to care for your spouse and children for a period of two years without that spouse working.  It’s difficult to overstate the debilitating effect the grieving process can have on a young family.  For two years, free your spouse from the need to (1) work to pay bills and (2) obtain and pay for outside child care.  By obtaining a term life policy for $500,000, $1 million, or even $2 million, a young parent can make sure that their spouse and children are well cared for while they recover.

Please understand – I don’t sell life insurance and I make no money off referrals to life insurance agents.  I’ve just seen how limited assets can compound the devastation of a young person’s sudden death.

Another type of insurance to consider while you’re young is long-term care and disability insurance, to cover events that disable a parent without causing death.

If you can’t decide what type of insurance you might need, or the levels needed, call the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz, or a local life insurance specialist!

Often, a person or couple will delay buying life insurance until they feel they can better afford it. However, that’s not wise. The older you get, the more expensive new life insurance policies become and the less insurable you become. At some point, life insurance will become unavailable to you, either due to age or to a medical condition. The best time to buy life insurance is while you are relatively young and healthy.

Why to buy life insurance? As a tool in estate planning, life insurance can:

1. Create an estate for your spouse or children.
2. Provide cash needed to settle your estate.
3. Allow you to give to charity without depleting your estate.
4. Cover estate tax expenses.