Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

Living Trust

my father passed away and my mom is surviving spouse- their house in s.f. probably worth $1M is under life estate, with the 3 daughters as joint tenants- we want to gift the house back to mom and do a living trust funded only by the house- i already have p.o. a. on medical and financial for my mom- is it necessary to do separate one for a living trust or can I keep the one in effect-the financial one indicates includes trust transactions


Asked on 4/12/07, 10:51 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Donald Field Donald L. Field, Jr., Attorney at Law

Re: Living Trust

you should retain a qualified attorney to advise you regarding these changes and make recommendations. there are a number of serious consequences to what you are considering, such as multiple gifts potentially subject to federal gift tax, and only a knowledgeable professional will be able to determine the alternatives available and ensure that any documents achieve the desired results.

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Answered on 4/14/07, 12:34 pm
Jeb Burton The Burton Law Firm

Re: Living Trust

Most durable power of attorneys (DOA) limit the attorney in facts right to create, destroy, etc, a trust. However, this is a power you can specifically give to thru a DOA. If yours has that power, then you would not need to create a new one. Regardless you NEED to speak to an attorney on this one, destroying a life estate and creating a trust under a DOA is not something anyone should be doing on their own.

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Answered on 4/12/07, 1:04 pm


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