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Bruce Givner's Answers
- 146 Legal Answers
- 4 Legal Guides
1
Attorney answers:
Should a trustee provide accounting statements to beneficiaries
The answer to your question is that your rights as a beneficiary include the right to receive an accounting. However, you probably do not have the right to receive an accounting more often than annually. To know how often you have to first check the trust instrument and see what it provides. Otherwise, state law limits the timing to once per year. Some of the relevant code sections are printed below for your convenience. You can find the rest of them at Findlaw.com. If your interest in...
12 people marked this answer as helpful
1
Attorney answers:
Borrowing money from family members, guidelines for setting up loan agreement under WA state law
First, your brother can loan you $150,000 if he wishes to do so. A loan is not a gift. So it is not subject to a "legal gift limit." Presumably by "legal gift limit" you either mean the (i) $12,000 annual (per donee) gift exclusion or (ii) the $1,000,000 (per donor) lifetime transfer tax exclusion. Or, perhaps you mean the $100,000 limit on no interest loans. That is discussed in more detail below. Second, of course your brother can secure his loan. He could, for example, require you...
12 people marked this answer as helpful
2
Attorney answers:
What is the federal gift tax and how does it work
First, the gift tax is paid by the donor, not by the donee. So if you give money to your son and his children, any liability for gift tax is yours, not theirs. Second, you are entitled to an annual exclusion from gift tax of $12,000 per person per year. That figures is going to increase to $13,000 per person is 2009. So, if the total gifts you make to your son this year, including Christmas and birthday gifts is $12,000 or less, you do not owe a gift tax and you do not need to file a...
10 people marked this answer as helpful
3
Attorney answers:
Grandparent's rights to custody of grandchildren under CA family law
You need to hire a lawyer who is skilled in child custody issues. If you do not know one, get a recommendation from a friend, colleague, neighbor or your CPA. If you cannot afford one then go to the Shasta County Family Law Facilitator, 1500 Court St. Room 115 Redding, CA 96001 (1.2 miles) Phone: 530-245-6900.
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3
Attorney answers:
Trust owner has passed, what is the successor trustee's requirements to manage the trust in CA
How large is the trust estate? If the gross estate (meaning the fair market value of the assets, not reduced by debt) is $2,000,000 or more and the trustor died in 2008, then an IRS Form 706 (Federal Estate Tax Return) is due 9 months after the date of death. That means you must hire both a competent (i) CPA and (ii) probate attorney. (The fact that the attorneys in this field are sometimes referred to as "probate" attorneys does not mean that this estate must go through probate. They are...
5 people marked this answer as helpful
1
Attorney answers:
CA foreclosure process, can mortgage deed of trust lender sue me and seek my other assets
You have not provided enough facts to give you an answer. As a general matter, a loan made to buy a principal residence is subject to the California anti-deficiency law, Code of Civil Procedure Section 580(b). "Anti-deficiency" means that the lender cannot sue you for any negative balance; the lender has to sell the property. However, if you have re-financed since you bought the property, you are probably not protected by that rule. You must consult with a competent business lawyer to...
4 people marked this answer as helpful
1
Attorney answers:
Procedure for buyout of partnership under CA law transfer of debt liability to surviving partner
You need to hire a competent business lawyer. It sounds like you have a general partnership. Therefore, you are separately and equally liable for the debts incurred in the name of the business. You can certainly enter into an agreement with your partner that - as between the two of you - your soon-to-be-ex-partner will be solely responsible for the debts. However, if one of the creditors sues, your agreement will not protect you from the creditor.
3 people marked this answer as helpful
2
Attorney answers:
Can condo homeowners association put a lien on property for failure to pay dues under CA condo association law
Yes. Read and follow the rules of your homeowner's association. Do not let the dispute get to the point of the board putting a lien on your property. That will harm your credit. It will also probably require you to file a lawsuit to get the dispute resolved.
3 people marked this answer as helpful
4
Attorney answers:
Revocable trust vs irrevocable trust
To provide a competent answer we first need the facts. Once a trust is "irrevocable" then, by definition, it cannot become "revocable". Having said that, Probate Code Sections 15403 and 15404 provide mechanisms to chane otherwise irrevocable trusts. Ultimately, as with most legal matters, this is a cost/benefit analysis. If you stand to gain $1,000, then it is not going to be worthwhile hiring a competent lawyer (whose retainer will easily be that much or more). By contrast, if you...
3 people marked this answer as helpful
1
Attorney answers:
What is the procedure for getting guardianship of elder person under TX elder law, GAL
You must retain a competent estate planning or Elder Law attorney. That attorney will help you file a petition in the local probate court. The judge will appoint an investigator to examine the proposed conservatee. In other words, the conservatorship or guardianship will not be done without that person's knowledge. Once the court-appointed investigator reports back to the judge, the judge will make a decision on whether a conservator (or guardian) is needed, and the scope of that fiduciary'...
6 people marked this answer as helpful