Sirkin Law Trust Estate Probate Litigation Attorney

Los Angeles Living Trust: Amending Your Trust

Los Angeles Living Trust:  Will amending your trust impact the efficient transfer of your assets?  Yes.

Single Amendments:  In most cases, single amendments to a trust help clarify the trustor's intentions.

Multiple Amendments:  There are times where multiple amendment reflect a trustor who is under pressure by others to make a change, or one who simply cannot make up his/her mind.  Multiple Amendment within a short period of time, form the largest number of litigated cases in the trust and estate planning areas.

What should you do to clarify your intentions?

1.   State the reason why you are making a change.

2.  Identify troubled persons in your family and discuss those with your attorney.

3.  Implement methods of distribution of assets which are consistent with your trust, or leave very specific instructions why some assets are to be distributed via different methods.

Mina Sirkin is a Living Trust Attorney in Los Angeles, Ca.  Ms. Sirkin is Certified as a Specialist Attorney in California Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law.  http://SirkinLaw.com. Tel.: 818-340-4479.

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Beneficiary Lawyers: Probate Litigation California

Probate Attorney Los Angeles: Mina Sirkin is a Los Angeles Certified Specialist lawyer who handles beneficiary and probate litigation matters in California:

Estate and trust beneficiaries often do not know what to do when they receive a Notice of Hearing from an executor or trustee.   Protecting a beneficiary in Los Angeles Probate Litigation matters involves taking immediate action.   Waiting too long to respond or object to petitions can often detrimentally affect the rights of beneficiaries.

There are several points to consider if you are a beneficiary who has receivd a Probate or Trust Notice of Hearing:

1.  Seek counsel immediately.

2.  Quickly determine if the trust or will has a no contest clause.

3.  Review the trust or will with a beneficiary attorney for impact on your interest.

4.  Determine if you need to object to the petition.

5.  Conserve your assets by early mediation in litigated matters.

6.  Gather your witnesses and journal a time-line of events.

When needing counsel to review your documents, contact Los Angeles Beneficiary Lawyers, Sirkin and Sirkin.  Our Certified Specialist attorney in Probate Litigation in Los Angeles California can assist you.    Contact us at: 818-340-4479.  http://www.SirkinLaw.com. 

 

 

 

 

 

Probate in the Modern Court Room in Los Angeles

Probate in the Modern Court Room in Los Angeles, and what it means to you:

Los Angeles Probate Attorney, Mina Sirkin notes:

Some modern probate court rooms now have internet access.    In other court rooms, you can electronically send your proposed orders to be reviewed and signed by the probate judge or probate attorney.   In most court rooms, you can appear by telephone.  

What does this mean to you?  Well, it means that transmission of information is faster that what it used to be, so productivity is expected to go up.   It also means that the judges, probate examiners and probate attorneys in the court are under even more pressure to review the files which are coming up for hearings.

Some courts publish either notes, or tentative rulings in probate matters.   Most of the time, the notes are not prepared until just shortly before a hearing.    Clients can expect that they must be able to provide information requested by the courts on very short notice, at times, the night before a hearing.

Will the automation of probate courts help or hurt?  Automation and electronics have two sides, an angelic side, and an evil side.  Electronic communications by nature create urgency.   While not every email is urgent, the protocol is that emails must be responded to in a day!!  Sometimes, thought needs to go into a response.   And at times, and certainly in litigation, thinking about a subject may actually produce better results than a quick reply.

On the evil side of communication, witnesses now can tweet court room proceedings to outsiders, even if other witnesses are kept outside of the court room.   This can possibly change litigation results.   Solution:  No tweeting, cell use, or internet use during trials or evidentiary hearings.   Los Angeles Probate Lawyer

Less personal communication, such as email means, you don't get to hear the long pauses when you ask questions on the telephone, and certainly can mean that you miss creating working relationships that in most cases help resolve issues for clients.   So, the conculsion is to use electronics, but leave some personal communication room for conflict resolution, in person.

Mina N. Sirkin is a Los Angeles Probate Lawyer who is Certified as a Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law in Los Angeles, California.  You can reach her in person by calling 818-340-4479.

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles Probate Attorney gives tips about Preventative Legal Care

Preventative legal care: Mina Sirkin, Los Angeles Probate Attorney

Educating executors of probate estates and beneficiaries in preventative legal care is a great task for most estate and probate lawyers.   Different personalities and the grieving process often complicate even simple probate and trust matters.

If you are an executor, you can take a few steps in paving the difficult emotional road which comes with most California Probate cases with the follows:

1.  Keep accurate records of any and all estate expenses.

2.  Don't use cash to pay for any estate expense, unless you get a written receipt for it.

3.  Anticipate personality differences and immediately tell your probate attorney about the party's quirks before things get ugly.

4.  Remember that as a fiduciary, you must treat all beneficiaries with fairness and cannot favor one beneficiary over another, unless the will or trust specifically directs you to do so.

5.  Record all transactions in a ledger daily.  Don't wait a week to update your ledger.

6.  When difficulties are expected with a particular beneficiary, put everything in writing, unless your probate lawyer tells you otherwise.

Mina N. Sirkin is a Los Angeles Probate Attorney who is Certified as a Specialist Attorney in Probate, Estate Planning, and Trust Law by the State Bar of California.  Ms. Sirkin educates lawyers and clients about preventative legal care in California Probate cases. Contact Information: 818-340-4479.  MSirkin@SirkinLaw.com.  Website: http://www.SirkinLaw.com.