Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Re: Executing my Family Trust

Since this apparently a trust and not probating a will, you should consider an election to treat the trust during the period of administration as a estate for the purposes of taxation. A competent tax attorney can advise you on this. Trust administration is tricky and it depends on the language in the trust. You should seek guidance from a competent attorney to guide you through it as you have one of the highest responsibilities in the law. If there are beneficiaries other than yourself you must be careful

Re: Executing my Family Trust

You need to retain a probate lawyer. There are many things that you probably will not be able to do on your own. For just one example, the trust instrument may provide that the trust was reconfigured into at least two trusts or more at the death of the first of your parents to die; each of these subtrusts will have a separate employer identification number and will file a separate income tax return (as will each parent's estate). Assets will need to be retitled into the names of these trusts. In addition, an estate tax return may have to be filed and estate taxes paid.