RLS

Rains Lucia Stern provides a full range of estate planning services to our clients. In addition, the firm's many years of experience in representing public safety personnel provides us with unique insights and advantages in advising our clients on the benefits available in the event of death and disability.

RLS represents public safety personnel throughout Northern California. Unfortunately, we have had far too many occasions to advise individual employees and their families when the call to service results in a death or disability. Our unique experience has afforded us the opportunity to advise our clients on the full range of death and disability benefits which are available to public safety personnel.

RLS advises our public safety employee clients on the various benefits associated with line of duty death and disability. These benefits include for example, a federal death benefit payable to survivors of public safety personnel which exceeds $250,000 (Public Safety Officers Benefits Act; 42 U.S.C. § 3796 et seq.). There are a host of other benefits provided through retirement systems, workers’ compensation, and other private foundations. In addition, there are federal and state scholarship monies available to children of surviving public safety personnel killed in the line of duty.

RLS will guide you through the complex (and often confusing) area of wills, trusts, probate, and estate planning in plain English. RLS designs personal estate plans around the concept of keeping you in control of your personal and financial affairs during your life, upon incapacity, and at death. Each estate plan is uniquely designed for you and your family's needs and concerns.

Our estate planning and estate administration services include:

• Trusts: Revocable and Irrevocable
• Wills
• Powers of Attorney
• Advance Health Directives (Medical & End-of-Life)
• Probate on Death
• Probate Court Petitions
• Trust Administration
• Transfer of Property Without Probate

Trusts
RLS prepares revocable trusts (also known as a "living" or inter-vivos trusts), that will not only identify the individuals who are to receive your assets upon death, but also identifies those individuals who will act as "trustees" and carry out your wishes upon death or incapacity. The individuals who create the trust are the "trustors," also know as "settlors."

The individuals or organizations who will receive your assets upon your death are known as "beneficiaries." The amount, manner and means of distribution of assets to beneficiaries will be determined by you in the trust document. A trust provides our clients with a great amount of flexibility relative to the distribution of assets upon death. A trust may also identify another individual who may act in your place when you are unable to legally act on your own behalf.

The "revocable trust" is a flexible document which may be revoked or amended at any time. The term "irrevocable," when associated with a trust, generally means that once a document has been signed its terms cannot be modified. In most cases, the proper drafting of a revocable trust will eliminate or reduce the estate taxes due at death.

The fees and costs associated with a probate (discussed below) can also be avoided by the utilization of a properly drafted and funded trust.

Wills
In some cases, clients simply do not want or need a revocable trust. In that case, RLS will prepare a will which identifies distribution of assets upon death. Regardless of the type of will which you execute, in most cases (without a trust) there will need to be a probate of assets at death.

Wills can take various forms in the State of California. A handwritten will is known as a "holographic will" and is perfectly legal when properly drafted and executed. In addition, there are will forms which can be purchased at bookstores or in some cases downloaded off the Internet. As part of our estate planning services, RLS drafts a "pour over" will in conjunction with a revocable trust. A "pour over" will is drafted as a safety net for most estate plans. A pour over will generally provide direction to a probate court in the event that an asset is not transferred to the trust.

Powers of Attorney
An essential component to the estate plan is the power of attorney. Unfortunately, all too often individuals become incapacitated by virtue of accidents, illness or general degradation of mental capacity due to the aging process. When an individual is unable to make legal decisions for themselves, they will be unable to make health care decisions for themselves.

The health care power of attorney, when properly drafted and executed, will identify a named individual(s) to be legally authorized to make health care decisions for you. These health care decisions generally entail authorization for surgical procedures and treatment. The health care power of attorney can also indicate preferences as to types and conditions under which treatment can be administered to you. The health care power of attorney can also be conditioned on the finding that you are "incapacitated" by two or more medical professionals.

Although you may lose capacity and not require medical procedures or treatment, there will assuredly be a need to conduct your property affairs. In particular, matters such as paying bills, transferring title to assets or selling property, will need to be anticipated whether you retain capacity or not. Selecting an individual in advance by way of a properly drafted property management durable power of attorney will obviate the need to have a conservatorship initiated to assist in the management of your property and affairs.

As with the durable power of attorney for health care, this power of attorney can be conditioned on a finding by two or more medical professionals that you do not have legal capacity. In addition, there are limitations and restrictions which can be imposed on an attorney in fact who will be nominated by you in the document.

This document can be modified or revoked at any time while you have legal capacity.

Advance Health Directives (Medical & End-of-Life)
A directive to physicians, sometimes known as a "living will," can either be a separate document executed by you or, in some cases, also be identified in the durable power of attorney for health care. This document, when properly executed and drafted, will advise medical providers, such as physicians or hospitals, of your wishes concerning artificial life support in the event that you are unable to function without mechanical apparatus.

Obviously, the decision to execute this document is one of the most difficult in the estate planning process. Keep in mind that without indicating your preferences in advance, your loved ones may be left to make this very difficult decision on their own in the most dreadful of circumstances.

Probate
Under current California law, there are many types of assets which must be transferred at death under the watchful eye of the superior court. The court proceedings associated with the transfer of assets upon death are referred to as "probate proceedings." Probate proceedings generate fees which are based primarily upon the size of the estate, not necessarily the amount of work that goes into transferring the assets. In addition, there are a number of costs associated with probate proceedings and, generally, the fees and costs of probate far exceed the costs of a standard estate plan.

Probate proceedings will generally take nine months to a year to complete. In the interim, accountings and court supervision are an integral part of the process. The filing of the probate petition, as well as all of the accountings, inventory of assets, identification of beneficiaries and all details associated with the probate are a matter of public record.

There are absolutely no assurances that any of the probate proceedings will be private. On the contrary, the transfer of assets under a revocable trust are, for the most part, private and will not entail any public disclosure of the nature, amount and distribution of the assets.

Regardless of the size of an estate, there are some assets which, by their nature, must be transferred by way of a probate proceeding, unless there has been a transfer to a revocable trust.