John Hartog explains Common Estate Planning Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

More people than ever are becoming elderly with diminishing capacity, an absence of close family members nearby to care for them, and the potential for disfavoring heirs in asset distribution.

It’s critical that the couple understand and adhere to the rules governing their acts. Married clients often establish a Family Trust to control the disposition of their assets During their lifetimes, clients may transmute (that is, change the form of) property, whether from separate to community, from community to separate or from the separate property of one spouse to the separate property of the other spouse. A transmutation isn’t valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that’s made, joined in, consented to or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected. The writing must contain language that expressly states that the characterization or ownership of the property is being changed.

Hartog, Baer, Zabronsky (HBZ) congratulates Anna Judson, a first-year student at UC Berkeley School of Law, for being the firm’s 2022 Diversity Scholarship recipient.