Linda C. Ashar - The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate in California: A Step-by-Step Plan to Protect Your Assets, Limit Your Taxes, and Ensure Your Wishes are Fulfilled f

The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate In California:

A Step-By-Step Plan to Protect Your Assets, Limit Your Taxes, and Ensure Your Wishes Are Fulfilled for California Residents

By Linda C. Ashar, J.D., and Sandy Baker

The Complete Guide to Planning Your Estate In CALIFORNIA: A Step-By-Step Plan to Protect Your Assets, Limit Your Taxes, and Ensure Your Wishes Are Fulfilled for CALIFORNIA Residents

Copyright 2010 Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be sent to Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc., 1210 SW 23rd Place, Ocala, Florida 34471.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ashar, Linda C., 1947

The complete guide to planning your estate in California : a step-by-step plan to protect your assets, limit your taxes, and ensure your wishes are fulfilled for California residents / by Linda C. Ashar and Sandy Baker.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60138-425-6 (alk. paper)

ISBN-10: 1-60138-425-4 (alk. paper)

1. Estate planning--California--Popular works. I. Baker, Sandy Ann, 1976- II. Title.

KFC195.A97 2009

332.02401609794--dc22

2009039859

LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.

A few years back we lost our beloved pet dog Bear, who was not only our best and dearest friend but also the Vice President of Sunshine here at Atlantic Publishing. He did not receive a salary but worked tirelessly 24 hours a day to please his parents.

Bear was a rescue dog who turned around and showered myself, my wife, Sherri, his grandparents Jean, Bob, and Nancy, and every person and animal he met (well, maybe not rabbits) with friendship and love. He made a lot of people smile every day.

We wanted you to know a portion of the profits of this book will be donated in Bears memory to local animal shelters, parks, conservation organizations, and other individuals and nonprofit organizations in need of assistance.

Douglas and Sherri Brown

PS: We have since adopted two more rescue dogs: first Scout, and the following year, Ginger. They were both mixed golden retrievers who needed a home.

Want to help animals and the world? Here are a dozen easy suggestions you and your family can implement today:

• Adopt and rescue a pet from a local shelter.
• Support local and no-kill animal shelters.
• Plant a tree to honor someone you love.
• Be a developer put up some birdhouses.
• Buy live, potted Christmas trees and replant them.
• Make sure you spend time with your animals each day.
• Save natural resources by recycling and buying recycled products.
• Drink tap water, or filter your own water at home.
• Whenever possible, limit your use of or do not use pesticides.
• If you eat seafood, make sustainable choices.
• Support your local farmers market.
• Get outside. Visit a park, volunteer, walk your dog, or ride your bike.

Five years ago, Atlantic Publishing signed the Green Press Initiative. These guidelines promote environmentally friendly practices, such as using recycled stock and vegetable-based inks, avoiding waste, choosing energy-efficient resources, and promoting a no-pulping policy. We now use 100-percent recycled stock on all our books. The results: in one year, switching to post-consumer recycled stock saved 24 mature trees, 5,000 gallons of water, the equivalent of the total energy used for one home in a year, and the equivalent of the greenhouse gases from one car driven for a year.

Trademark Statement

All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners and are used only to directly describe the products being provided. Every effort has been made to properly capitalize, punctuate, identify, and attribute trademarks and trade names to their respective owners, including the use of and wherever possible and practical. Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc. is not a partner, affiliate, or licensee with the holders of said trademarks.

California Facts

In California, a person 18 years or over is legal age to make a will.

California law presumes a person to be of sound mind unless proved otherwise.

In California, you may write your will out by hand, type, or print it out from your computer, or fill it in on a pre-printed form.

Unless your will is a holographic will, which is recognized in California, you must have two disinterested witnesses sign your will. Your witnesses have to be competent that is, of sound mind and usually at least age 18.

In California, joint wills are not recognized.

California does not recognize nuncupative or deathbed wills.

Californias Probate Code expressly recognizes international wills for probating wills executed in foreign countries.

In California, you can set up a trust for a pets care.

In California, a will provision granting anything to a spouse is expressly revoked by statute once the parties are separated with intent to be permanently divorced, or their marriage is divorced, dissolved, or annulled.

In California, you are required to leave your spouse 50 percent of what you own, and that includes anything that has been purchased or acquired in virtually any legal way during your marriage.

Dedication

To my husband and children, who have helped me to create the life Ive dreamed of living. Sandy Baker