Weintraub Tobin is pleased to announce that Gary D. Rothstein has joined our San Francisco office as Of Counsel.
Gary comes to us Weintraub from a national law and consulting firm. Gary has extensive experience with all aspects of trust administration, probate matters and estate planning.
With offices in San Francisco, Beverly Hills, Newport Beach
When discussing your estate planning needs with your attorney, after you discuss basic terms and concepts, your attorney will likely talk to you about the different types of revocable living trusts that may be appropriate for you. If you are married, this may include a discussion about a revocable living trust structure commonly referred to as a “Sweetheart Trust.”
The Sweetheart Trust derives its name from the high level of control and discretion the surviving spouse maintains after the death of the first spouse. Initially, while both spouses are alive and competent, either spouse can revoke his or her share of the trust and the terms of the trust can usually be modified with the consent of both spouses. When one spouse dies, all trust assets remain in the same revocable trust for the lifetime of the surviving spouse. During the surviving spouse’s lifetime, he or she can terminate the trust, change its terms, add or remove beneficiaries, and otherwise manage the trust as he or she sees fit. Because the surviving spouse has complete and absolute control over the trust after the first spouse dies—in essence, an unconditional gift—this type of trust is called a Sweetheart Trust.
Continue Reading Estate Planning 101: What is a “Sweetheart Trust?”
It was recently revealed that the late Paul Walker left his entire estate—valued at approximately $25 million—to his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.
As reported, Paul Walker named his father as the executor of his will and his mother, Cheryl, as the guardian of Meadow’s person and now-$25 million estate. Prior to his death, Meadow lived
The California Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District issued a ruling Tuesday in Lintz v. Lintz, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 27 (6th Dist. January 14, 2014) adopting the reasoning of the Second Appellate District regarding the standard for legal capacity to execute a trust instrument (as announced by the Second Appellate District in
When it comes to setting up a revocable trust, most people are primarily concerned with avoiding the time and expense associated with the probate process. To avoid probate, it is crucial that legal title to any real property is transferred to the trustee of the trust. In discussing the importance of funding the trust with real property, many clients want to know whether or not the transfer to the trust will trigger an acceleration of the debt on the property under a “due-on-sale” clause. Although the question is fairly common, the answer is not as straightforward as you might expect.
Transfers of a Personal Residence
Under federal law, due-on-sale provisions are regulated by the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982 (Garn Act). The Garn Act, as interpreted by the Code of Federal Regulations, prevents a lender from enforcing a due-on-sale clause when a home is transferred to a revocable trust in which the borrower is a beneficiary and the home is occupied (or will be occupied) by the borrower. As far as California law is concerned, a due-on-sale clause cannot be enforced if the property transferred into the revocable trust is “residential property” and the borrower is a beneficiary of the trust. Here, “residential property” is defined as “any real property which contains at least one but not more than four housing units.” Therefore, under both federal and California law, transferring your personal residence into your revocable living trust will not trigger a due-on-sale clause.
