Trusts and Estates Section Home Page
News from the Section
Webinar: Estate Planning for a Child with a Disability
May 15, 2013, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
This program offers 1 hour Participatory MCLE Credit and 1 hour credit Legal Specialization in Estate Planning; Trust & Probate Law. You must register in advance in order to participate.
Estate planning for a child with a disability can be a serious undertaking. Primarily, this planning consists of creating a special needs trust for the child in order to preserve eligibility for SSI and Medi-Cal, but this should only be the beginning of the planning. This webinar will cover those additional considerations that all planners should add to their trusts including creating the lifetime management team, providing flexibility for changes in the law, making sure the child with a disability is protected from predators, providing adequate housing, and other related issues. With speaker Kevin Urbatsch.
Kevin Urbatsch is a principal of the estate planning law firm Myers Urbatsch P.C. located in San Francisco, California. Kevin also serves as National Director of the Academy of Special Needs Planners (ASNP), a national organization of special needs planning professionals. Kevin is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. In May 2011, Kevin was presented the NAELA’s Presidential Recognition Award for his work in special needs planning. Kevin is a frequent lecturer and author including his book titled Administering the California Special Needs Trust and Special Needs Trusts: Planning for your Special Needs Child’s Financial Future (4th and 5th Edition).
The Educating Seniors Project is Back in Action
The Trusts and Estates Section is pleased to announce that its Educating Seniors project is now back in full operation. This project has been sponsored by the Section since 1997 and focuses on training attorneys who specialize in the practice of trusts and estates law on matters relating to elder financial abuse. Trained attorneys are then provided with contact information for their local Senior Centers along with a portfolio of brochures and educational materials; following this, they are deployed in their local communities for the purpose of providing senior audiences with information designed to protect them from predatory schemes.
If you are a trusts and estates attorney who would like to be part of this important project, please contact us! And if you are the representative of a Senior Center (or other organization that serves the senior community in your area), we hope that you will contact us as well.
Please contact:
Phillip Weber
Educating Seniors Project Coordinator
State Bar of California
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, California 94105
415-538-2290
Phillip.Weber@calbar.ca.gov
Guide to the California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Counsel
Now available: The "Guide to the California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning, Trust and Probate Counsel" (Revised 2008). Neither the California Rules of Professional Responsibility nor the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct provide adequate guidance to California practicing trusts and estates lawyers. The Executive Committee of the Trusts & Estates Section of the State Bar (TEXCOM) sought to fill this gap in 1997 with the publication of the Guide to the California Rules of Professional Conduct for Estate Planning Trust and Probate Counsel. The first publication of the Guide was well received by practitioners.
Much has occurred in the area of practice in the last decade. TEXCOM has released this edition of the Ethics Guide to reflect these developments. The Ethics Guide is intended to provide general guidance to California trusts and estates lawyers by identifying reasonable approaches to common problems. The Guide is particularly well suited to California practitioners, because it is sensitive to the unique framework of California jurisprudence. The Ethics Guide will be an essential addition to the library of every California trust and estate lawyer.
To order, go to Order Online (opens in new window) -- Click on "Order Sections Products," then "Trusts and Estates Section". Or print out the Mail Publications Order Form (opens in new window).
New Requirements for Being Licensed as a Fiduciary
In order to serve as a professional fiduciary in California, it is now necessary to become licensed by the Department of Consumer Affairs Professional Fiduciary Bureau. No one who meets the definitions in Business and Professions Code Sections 6500-6592 of “professional fiduciary” can serve in that capacity after January 1, 2009, without being licensed. For more information about the requirements, and links to all pertinent materials for becoming licensed, see Professional Fiduciary Applicage Package.
Trusts and Estates Section on the Radio
Radio station KALW regularly broadcasts "Your Legal Rights," a show in which callers can ask questions of attorneys with expertise in different areas of the law.
Listen Now to "Long-Term Care Insurance Issues" - Aired on August 10, 2011.
Listen Now to "Medical Eligibility Update" - Aired on January 20, 2011.
Listen Now to "Social Security Issues" - Aired on January 5, 2011.
Listen Now to "Estate Planning Regarding Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment at the End of Life" - Aired on August 25, 2010.
Listen Now to "Issues Facing Older Persons and the Legal System's Ability to Protect Them" - Aired on December 23, 2009.
Listen Now to "Bank Accounts Held in the Name of a Trust and Other Issues Involving Revocable Trusts " - aired on June 24, 2009.
Listen Now to "Home Foreclosures Before and After Death" - aired on June 9, 2010.
Listen Now to "Death and Marital Dissolution - What You Need to Know" - aired April 21, 2010.
Listen now to "Property Reassessment After Owner's Death " - aired on April 15, 2009.
Listen now to "Estate Planning with a Focus on Special Needs Cases " - aired on February 25, 2009.
Listen now to "An Update on Financial Abuse of the Elderly " - aired on December 17, 2008.
Listen now to "Individual Retirement Accounts: Dos & Don'ts" - aired on September 24, 2008.
Additional broadcasts are also available online through ilawyer.com. For a complete list and further information, see "Your Legal Rights": Trusts and Estates.
Advance Care Health Directive
The Advance Care Health Directive (Probate Code Section 4700-4701) is posted online on the State of California's Official California Legislative Information Web site. The form provided in Section 4701 can be used to create an advance health care directive. The other sections of this division govern the effect of the form or any other writing used to create an advance health care directive. An individual may complete or modify all or any part of the form in Section 4701. See Advance Care Health Directive. For more resources, see Educating Seniors Speaker Bureau at For the Public.
Toll Free Senior Information Line: 1 - 888 - 460-7364
The Trust and Estates Section has established an information line to assist you in reporting the activities of attorneys and non-attorneys involved in fraudulent activities against seniors in California. The State Bar of California is authorized to discipline attorneys who have participated in these activities and to pursue complaints against non-attorneys for the unauthorized practice of law. Because of our limited resources, however, we encourage you to also file complaints with other appropriate state agencies and law enforcement branches.
The number is: 1-888-460-7364. Please assist the Section in publicizing the availability of this service! For more resources, see Educating Seniors Speaker Bureau at For the Public.
Legislative Tracking
The State Bar's Office of Governmental Affairs offers online bill tracking page for members of the Sections of the State Bar (as well as the Bar's Board of Trustees and its standing advisory committees). The page is accessible to all Section members who have created a State Bar Profile. To access the page, log in to your State Bar Profile and go to the Trusts and Estates Section Members Only Area.
Save Money with CEB
Continuing Education of the Bar, California (CEB) is extending some special discount offers to our section. As a member of the Trusts and Estates Section, you're eligible for:
- 10% off selected CEB print or online books
- A rebate on your section dues that can be applied to the cost of a CEB Gold CLE Passport or a CLE program ticket
A complete list of the products eligible for a discount is available on a CEB web page accessible through our Members Only Area. Information about the section dues rebate program can be found on the CEB Web site.
Contact
Trusts and Estates Section
The State Bar of California
180 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94105-1639
415-538-2206
FAX 415-538-2368