Sirkin Law Trust Estate Probate Litigation Attorney

How to gather probate estate assets, inventory and appraise them

How to gather probate estate assets, inventory and appraise them

Executors and administrators in California have to gather, marshal, inventory and appraise the probate estate assets as soon as they are appointed.  

What does marshaling mean? It technically means taking possession of the asset in the name of the estate.   For example, decedent's bank accounts have to be changed to the name of the named estate, as follows: Johnny Executor Doe, Executor of the Estate of Jim Decedent Doe.

California Probate law requires that within 120 days after the issuance of Letters (authority to act), that the executor must take possession and inventory the assets. The inventory is then filed with the court using a form, and before it is filed, the court’s appraiser, called a probate referee, must appraise them.   Estate Bank accounts are appraised by the executor, but most other assets are appraised by the referee.   Assets such as stock certificates, bonds, and real estate all must be appraised as of the date of death.   Failing to do this timely can result in removal of the executor or administrator.

What Items to take to the Bank to collect a Decedent's bank accounts, and to open an estate bank account?

Most banks will ask executors and administrators to bring with them several items:  1) Certified Court Letters; 2) Certified Probate Order; 3) A Certified Death Certificate of the Decedent; and 4) An EIN Tax number for the estate.  If you miss taking even one of the items above, the bank may not assist you, so it is best to spend the time to have all of those items with you when you go to the bank. We can assist executors and administrators in obtaining the right papers for banks.

Mina N. Sirkin is a Probate Attorney serving Los Angeles, who is licensed to practice law in California since 1992.  Ms. Sirkin is Board Certified as a specialist in probate in California.   You can reach us by Email at:  Info@SirkinLaw.com or by Telephone at 818.340.4479.

What happens to your Google Account when you die? Probate Attorney Los Angeles

What happens to your Google Account when you die?

Mina Sirkin, a Probate Attorney in Los Angeles says that Google will consider your account an inactive account, but has implemented a way for you to set up a Trusted Contact person who will be able to download parts of your account data if your account is inactive for a period of time.

Here's Google's policy on inactive accounts and what you can do to protect yourself:

"Inactive Account Manager is a way for users to share parts of their account data or notify someone if they’ve been inactive for a certain period of time. To set up Inactive Account Manager, go to www.google.com/settings and click on the setup link under Account Management.

How do we detect activity?

We look at several signals to understand whether you are still using your Google Account. These include your last sign-ins, your web history, usage of Gmail (e.g., the Gmail app on your phone) and Android check-ins.

What happens when your account gets deleted?

Deleting your Google Account will affect all products associated with that account (e.g., Blogger, AdSense, Gmail), and affect each product differently. You can review the data associated with your account on the Google Dashboard. If you use Gmail with your account, you'll no longer be able to access that email. You'll also be unable to reuse your Gmail username.

Why do I need to provide a phone number for a trusted contact?

We'll use the phone number for the sole purpose of ensuring that only the trusted contact can actually download your data. Verifying the identity using a mobile phone number prevents data access from unauthorized people who might get hold of the email we send to your trusted contact.

What will trusted contacts receive?

Contacts will only receive notification once your account has been inactive for the specified amount of time -- they will not receive any notification during setup. If you chose to only notify your contacts of your inactive account, they'll receive an email with a subject line and content that you wrote during setup. We'll add a footer to that email, explaining that you've instructed Google to send an email on your behalf after you've stopped using your account. This footer might say something like this:

John Doe (john.doe@gmail.com) instructed Google to send you this mail automatically after John stopped using his account.

Sincerely,
The Google Accounts Team

If you chose to share data with your trusted contact, the email will additionally contain a list of the data you have chosen to share with them, and a link they can follow to download the data. An example of such message could be:

John Doe (john.doe@gmail.com) instructed Google to send you this mail automatically after John stopped using his account.

John Doe has given you access to the following account data:

• +1s
• Blogger
• Drive
• Latitude
• Mail
• Picasa Web Albums
• YouTube

Download John's data here.

Sincerely,
The Google Accounts Team

Learn more about how you can share your data with trusted contacts."

Above was quoted from Google's support page.

Mina N. Sirkin is a Probate Attorney in Los Angeles.  She is a Certified Specialist Attorney in Trusts, Estate Planning and Probate. Tel.: 818-340-4479.  

 

California Elder Law & Medi-Cal Planning Lawyers _ Woodland Hills & San Fernando Valley

California Elder Law & Medi-Cal Planning Lawyers- Woodland Hills & San Fernando Valley.

Sirkin & Sirkin is a boutique Medi-Cal planning, Elder Law and Estate Planning firm in Woodland Hills, California, in the San Fernando Valley. Our legal services range from elder law, trust, estate and traditional estate planning to trust litigation and Medi-Cal Planning. We  handle complex matters in Elder Law.  Our Medi-Cal and Elder Law Attorneys assist clients with Long-Term Care and Disability Planning, which services include qualifying for Medi-Cal Benefits, Medi-Cal Recovery prevention, and Asset Protection. Often, we are asked to evaluate the need for Medi-Cal versus the alternatives to Medi-Cal planning.

Our attorneys can be consulted regarding asset protection techniques in connection with Long-Term Care Planning. We offer a detailed evaluation of availability of ‘spend down’ in order to accelerate eligibility for Medi-Cal, where appropriate.  There are many “alternatives” which require attention and which with careful analysis, can enable seniors and their families to retain certain assets while qualifying for Medi-Cal nursing home care. We can help your family avoid significant nursing home expenses when dealing with long-term nursing home care.

As one of the San Fernando Valley's Elder Law and Medi-Cal attorneys, our Partner, Mina N. Sirkin, is frequently asked to speak on Elder Law topics to seniors, support groups, financial planners and social workers throughout the San Fernando Valley and Woodland Hills, Ca areas. We serve all Los Angeles County and Ventura County, California areas.

Mina Sirkin is an Elder Law and Medi-Cal attorney in the San Fernando Valley, Woodland Hills Ca areas.  We welcome your questions and look forward to the opportunity to working closely with you and your loved ones to plan for Long Term Care or Medi-Cal crisis situation. Call us at 818-340-4479 or email to MSirkin@SirkinLaw.com. California Elder Law & Medi-Cal Planning Lawyers _ Woodland Hills & San Fernando Valley.   Elder Law Call Woodland Hills.

 

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MINA SIRKIN 818.340.4479