For cost and registration information, contact:
Jonathan Cook
National Business Institute
1218 McCann Drive
Altoona, WI 54720
(800) 909-7689
jonathan.cook@nbi-sems.com

The title of the seminar is Estate Administration Procedures: Why Each Step is Important. Along with Mr. Printz, faculty will include Janathan Allen of Allen Barron, sole practitioner Stuart Schechter, and Charles T. Scott of Kimball, Tirey & St. John.

The seminar will provide the following credits: California MCLE Paralegal; CFP for Financial Planners - 8.0; CLE for Attorneys- 6.75; CTEC for tax preparers- 8.0; IACET – 0.7; CPE for accountants/NASBA – 8.0; and PACE (CLU, CASL, ChFC) – 8.0

To register, call (800) 930-6182 or go to www.nbi-sems.com.

This is a basic level seminar, and provides fundamental estate administration topics for: attorneys; accountants; paralegals; trust officers; estate planners; and financial planners.

Accounting Contents:

  (1) The property on hand at the beginning of the period covered by
the account, which shall be the value of the property initially
received by the fiduciary if this is the first account, and shall be
the property on hand at the end of the prior account if this is a
subsequent account.
   (2) The value of any assets received during the period of the
accounting which are not assets on hand as of the commencement of the
administration of an estate.
   (3) The amount of any receipts of income or principal, excluding
items listed under paragraphs (1) and (2) or receipts from a trade or
business.
   (4) Net income from a trade or business.
   (5) Gains on sales.
   (6) The amount of disbursements, excluding disbursements for a
trade or business or distributions.
   (7) Loss on sales.
   (8) Net loss from trade or business.
   (9) Distributions to beneficiaries, the ward or conservatee.
   (10) Property on hand at the end of the accounting period, stated
at its carry value.
 

What should an accounting look like?

SUMMARY OF ACCOUNT
  CHARGES:
  Property on hand at beginning of
                                     $ ____________
  account (or Inventories)
  Additional
  property received (or              ______________
  Supplemental
  Inventories)
  Receipts (Schedule ___)            ______________
  Gains on Sale or Other
  Disposition                        ______________
  (Schedule ____)
  Net income from trade or business
                                     ______________
  (Schedule____)
  Total Charges:                     $ ____________
  CREDITS:
  Disbursements (Schedule ____)      $ ____________
  Losses on Sale or Other
  Disposition                        ______________
  (Schedule ____)
  Net loss from trade or business
                                     ______________
  (Schedule ___)
  Distributions (Schedule ___)       ______________
  Property on hand at close of
  account                            ______________
  (Schedule ___)
  Total Credits:                     $ ____________

Total charges should equal total credits.

What schedules does the summary of the accounting need?

(a) Receipts, showing the nature or purpose of each item, the
source of the receipt, and the date thereof.
   (b) Disbursement, including the nature or purpose of each item,
the name of the payee, and the date thereof.
   (c) Net income or loss from a trade or business, which shall be
sufficient if it provides the information disclosed on Schedule C or
F of the federal income tax return.
   (d) Calculation of gains or losses on sale or other disposition.
   (e) Distributions of cash or property to beneficiaries, ward or
conservatee, showing the date and amount of each, with the
distribution of property shown at its carry value.
   (f) Itemized list of property on hand, describing each item at its
carry value.

If the trustee has not produced something that looks like this – there is only a short period of time to object!  Contact a trust administration attorney as soon as possible.

1. Minor Children

Parents of minor children want to make sure that responsible parties are prepared to step in and raise their children if they cannot. They will want to appoint a Guardian of the Person and a Guardian of the Estate, who may or may not be the same persons.

2. Incapacity

Clients want to make sure that if they are temporarily or permanently incapacitated, a person they trust is nominated to handle their health care and property decisions. At the same time, the client can give instructions, such as end-of-life guidelines or property desires.

3. Distributions

Clients want to make sure that their assets go to certain persons on their death. The creation of a will, or a will and trust, is necessary to accomplish this goal. There are four types of beneficiaries; specific/direct; contingent; alternative; and, residuary.

4. Probate

Clients want their estates to avoid probate, which will eat away at their beneficiaries estate and cause significant delay in the transfer of assets. The only way to do this is to place all assets in probate avoiding devices, such as life insurance, pay-on-death accounts, and living trusts.

5. Estate Taxes

As of 1/1/2011, all estates over $1M will be taxed at 55% on transfer to non-spousal beneficiares. Clients who are married can easily save $550,000 on said transfer with the creation of a trust! Other strategies, such as inter-vivos transfers, can also significantly reduce taxation.

Absolutely!  You do not have a right to keep funds given by mistake. Consult a local probate attorney regarding the statute of limitations on recovery of the disbursement.  If the beneficiary refuses to return the balance, the executor will sue on behalf of the trust, and the costs of suit might be added to the recovery.

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

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. Audio Recording: $339. Manual only: $99. CD and Manual only: $199.

Enroll at: http://www.thelegacylawyer.com/first

The seminar will be held in San Diego on March 23, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and will provide continuing education credits.

1.  List your Assets:  Make a list of everything you own, including all bank accounts, investments, real estate, insurance policies, and any other valuable items of personal property.  Split the list into assets with named beneficiaries (such as insurance policies and retirement plans), jointly held assets, and assets you own personally that do not have named beneficiaries (such as cars, boats, collections, etc.).

2.  Assign beneficiaries:  Determine who you would like to receive each asset when you pass away.

3.  Write a Will:  Working with a qualified attorney, write a will that specifies where your assets should go and who should serve as guardians for your minor children, if necessary.

4.  Write Incapacity Documents:  Prepare an Advance Health Care Directive and a Durable Power of Attorney for Property Management, each of which “springs” into effect if you become incapacitated and can’t make your own health care or financial decisions.

5.  Consider Probate:  Work with an attorney to understand the Probate process, how it would affect your loved ones, and what can be done to avoid it.

6.  Consider a Living Trust:  If you think a trust might be right for you, consult and attorney and/or a financial advisor.

7.  Update your Insurance Policies:  If you have dependents, consider increasing your Life Insurance to the point where your spouse and child could live without income for two years – start by multiplying your annual income by five and see how that works.  If you’re in your 50′s or older, consider long-term-care insurance.

8.  Review your Advance Estate Planning needs:  If you have $3.5M or more, consider transferring assets out of your estate: charitable trusts and giving; advance gifts to children; grantor retained annuity trusts; etc.

9.  Plan for Business Succession:  If you own a business, consider which children (if any) you would like to inherit the ownership.   Otherwise, plan for the sale or transfer of your business or equity on your death.

In California, both the personal representative (an executor or administrator) and the personal representative’s attorney are entitled to compensation.  If the Will specifies the compensation, then that’s all they can receive (P.C. 10812).  If the Will doesn’t specify, then the personal representative and the attorney are each entitled to fees for ordinary services (P.C. 10810) and fees for extraordinary services (P.C. 10811).

Fees for extraordinary services must be approved by the Court and are in an amount that the Court considers “just and reasonable”.

But fees for ordinary services are set according to the gross value of the estate, without reference to encumbrances or other obligations.  In other words, if your home has a fair market appraisal of $1,000,000 then the fees are set on that amount, even if you have a $900,000 outstanding mortgage!

 Here is the fee table, based on gross value of the estate:

 What does this tell us? First, that everyone needs to avoid probate.  Second, that the smaller the estate, the harder the beneficiaries will be hurt by probate fees. 

Contact a qualified estate planning attorneyin your area, or call the Law Office of Daniel K. Printz at (858) 740-4370 to make an appointment.