Quick links to questions:
- What should I bring to Medi-Cal planning or long term care planning or asset protection appointment?
- What should I bring to appointment regarding a decedent’s estate?
- What should I bring to an appointment regarding a trust?
- What should I bring to an appointment regarding a conservatorship?
- How much does a conservatorship cost?
- What does the phrase “relatives in the first and second degree” mean?
- What should I bring to an appointment regarding a decedent’s estate?
Questions and Answers:
- What should I bring to Medi-Cal planning or long term care planning or asset protection appointment?
Please bring copies of the following signed original documents that you may have (we may need to retain these for reference while we work on your case and we would prefer that you safeguard the originals):
Any and all estate planning documents, such as a Trust (including lists of assets held inside and outside the trust) or Durable power of attorney for finance.
List of assets and their approximate value.
List of any and all real property owned and how title is held.
Monthly income and sources of income.
Current cost of care, or the approximate future cost if looking for a facility for placement.
- What should I bring to appointment regarding a decedent’s estate?
Please bring the following originals:
Certified Copy of person’s death certificate.
If the deceased had a will, please bring the original will.
Please bring copies of the following signed original documents that you may have (we may need to retain these for reference while we work on your case and we would prefer that you safeguard the originals):
If the deceased had a trust, bring a complete copy of trust with signature pages and amendments if any.
Names and addresses of all heirs and beneficiaries, and if they are adults (18 or older).
List of assets of the decedent.
Address(es) of any real property owned at date of death.
- What should I bring to an appointment regarding a trust?
Please bring copies of the following signed original documents that you may have (we may need to retain these for reference while we work on your case and we would prefer that you safeguard the originals):
Existing trusts.
Deeds to real property.
Most recent property tax bill for each property (to Verify trust inclusion).
A list of other assets and how they are held. These other assets might include: stocks, certificates of deposit, savings accounts, checking accounts, bonds, life insurance policies, or any other assets with beneficiary designations. How they are held, might include: joint tenancy, your name alone, or as trustee.
Financial power of attorney.
Will.
- How much does a conservatorship cost?
Because a conservatorship involves taking over the ability to make decisions for the Conservatee, everyone involved takes the task very seriously and there are many safeguards, which have the side effect of making the process expensive. We often use as an anology, what does a car cost?…
We charge by the hour for our work. Our first goal is to find a way to avoid the expense and effort of a conservatorship altogether by finding an alternative. If that’s not possible, we try to control the hourly fees by assigning as much work as possible to non attorneys, whose time is billed at a lower rate.
The cost of a conservatorship has a very wide range. Factors affecting the cost are: the agreement of all family members; the ability to get cooperation of a doctor in completing a capacity declaration; whether the proposed conservatee objects to being conserved; the ability of the conservator to follow detailed instructions and to keep exact financial records; and whether the Conservatee’s property needs to be sold.
In addition to the labor costs, there are a number of hard costs: filing fees, cost of certifed letters, cost of recording documents, cost of court investigation reports, costs of having legal documents served on the proposed conservatee, costs of the probate referee to value property.
All that being said, under the best of circumstances the first two years of Conservatorship are likely to cost at least $5,000 plus an additional $2,000 every two years after that. For developmentally disabled persons without an estate it is often possible to establish a Limited Conservatorship for around $1,500 with no on-going costs.
- What does the phrase “relatives in the first and second degree” mean?
“Relatives in the first and second degree” refers to the group of relatives of the subject of the proceeding (conservatee or decedent for example) that the court often requires be mailed a notice of hearing (usually 15 days in advance).
The members of this group are: spouse or domestic partner; parents; children; siblings (brothers and sisters); grandparents; and grandchildren.
The following is required for each person on the list: a current mailing address, their relationship to the subject, and their age (if they are 18 or older this can be simply “adult”).
If there are no living relatives in the first or second degree, then the relatives in the third degree must receive notice. They are: great grandparents; uncles and aunts; nephews and nieces; and great-grand children.
last updated: 25 Sep 2008
