Liza Hanks

Caring.com Expert

About

Liza Hanks is the founder and owner of FamilyWorks Estate Planning, a law firm with offices in Campbell and Los Altos, California, that specializes in creating affordable estate plans for families of all ages.

She's also the author of The Busy Family's Guide to Estate Planning (Nolo, 2007) and taught estate planning and taxation at Santa Clara University Law School from 2003 to 2006. She's a 1996 graduate of Stanford Law School, a former magazine editor, and the mother of two children, ages 12 and 6. In 2001, she left a large Silicon Valley law firm to start a practice that makes a positive difference to children and families.

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Recently Published on Caring.com

Monday November 24, 2008
1. How can I protect my mother's finances from her "friend?"
  Answer - Based on what you've described, and the very real possibility of elder abuse, it would seem wise to pursue using that power of attorney to organize and protect your mother's finances. You need to review that document to see how it defines incapacity: some documents go into effect upon signing, in which...
2. Should I get a second legal opinion about saving my mother's estate?
  Answer - You should definitely seek another lawyer's advice.It is difficult to sort through complicated facts like these remotely, but certainly, with so much at stake, you need to be sure that you've explored all possible avenues of recourse. This is especially true if you think that your mother was not competent to act when she transferred those assets...
3. Is it wise to make one child both the trustee and agent in a power of attorney?
  Answer - It depends on your family dynamics.Often one child is entrusted with both jobs. The agent acts for a parent when they are alive, but incapacitated; the trustee usually is empowered to act after death, but sometimes during life, if the parent resigns as trustee...
Tuesday October 28, 2008
1. Will my husband's aunt's jointly owned CDs in a credit union automatically be transferred to her trust or us upon her death?
  Answer - Your husband's aunt does not need to put those CDs into the trust. Assets owned in joint tenancy automatically transfer to the surviving owners when the other joint tenants die; they do not pass by trust.
2. Can I pay myself a salary from the family trust?
  Answer - It depends on what the trust itself says about how the assets can be used for your mother's benefit, and on who the trustee is. Typically, such trusts will specify that the assets can be used for the "health, maintenance, and support" of the beneficiary; sometimes for their "comfort, welfare, and happiness...
3. Will my husband's aunt's jointly owned CDs in a credit union automatically be transferred to her trust or us upon her death?
  Question - If there is already a plan in place for passing the legal ownership of property at death, it need not be placed in a living trust.
  1 Expert Answer
4. Can I pay myself a salary from the family trust?
  Question - Whether you are entitled to be paid for caring or your mother from a family trust depends on the trust wording.
  1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer
Thursday October 09, 2008
1. Are family corporations good or bad?
  Question - My parents set up a family corporation to pass along their assets. Is a family corporation a good way to do this and to avoid taxes?
  1 Expert Answer
2. If you receive money from an estate in trust for another individual, who pays the income tax on it?
  Question - If you receive money to put in someone else's trust, who pays the income tax? Do you have to pay income tax on this money that's not for your use?
  1 Expert Answer
3. Is it wise to put an elderly parent's home in trust?
  Question - Should I put my elderly parent's home in a trust? Putting a house in a trust is a good way to avoid probate, although it may not be necessary.
  1 Expert Answer
4. If I'm the partner on a friend's checking account, is it legal for me to distribute the funds after death?
  Question - My friend and I had a joint checking account before he died -- he added me to his account. Can I distribute the funds from our joint account now?
  1 Expert Answer
Wednesday October 08, 2008
1. How do I get the deed to my father's house transferred to my name?
  Answer - You will need to file a deed transferring the house to your name in the county where it is located.It doesn't cost much to record a deed, usually $8 to $10 dollars. A title company should be able to prepare one for you at a minimal cost. Or you might be able to do it yourself with help from the county...
2. How do I get the deed to my father's house transferred to my name?
  Question - The steps you need to take to transfer a house to your name depend on how you became entitled to take it: by will, trust or intestate succession.
  1 Expert Answer
Thursday October 02, 2008
1. Who is the best person to sign as the "responsible party" for my mother's assisted living facility?
  Answer - Your mom's agent for property management is the person that she appointed to act on her behalf should she become incapacitated. That means that her agent is the person who is designated to act as her financial advocate. While these documents vary in scope, most agents would have the authority to pay bills and take care of other property-related matters...
2. Should my mom put my sister's name on the deed to her home?
  Question - Should my parent put my sister's name on her house deed? Putting a child's name on the house deed before death has some serious disadvantages.
  1 Expert Answer
3. Who is the best person to sign as the "responsible party" for my mother's assisted living facility?
  Question - An assisted living facility may ask for someone to assume financial responsibility for bills incurred there, but that is not necessarily the same person designated in a power of attorney.
  1 Expert Answer
Thursday September 18, 2008
1. What is considered an "asset" when setting up a trust account?
  Question - Not all property that you think of assets need to be transferred to a living trust.
  1 Expert Answer
2. Should I sell my parents' house if they are no longer able to live alone and have them move in with me?
  Question - When selling your parents’ home, the issue of feelings may be more important than taxes.
  1 Expert Answer
Friday September 12, 2008
1. How do we set up a testamentary trust?
  Question - There are easy steps to follow to set up a testamentary trust – and the IRS can help.
  1 Expert Answer
Tuesday September 09, 2008
1. Do I have to pay taxes on a home that was deeded to me?
  Answer - There are three different taxes to consider.1. Gift tax. Your aunt's transfer of the home to you and your wife is considered a taxable gift in the year that it was transferred. Your aunt will need to file a 709 Gift Tax Return by April 15th of the next year...
2. How do we set up a testamentary trust?
  Answer - Once probate is finished, you'll need to get a taxpayer ID number from the IRS for that testamentary trust. You can do this online at the IRS website or over the phone by calling 800-829-4933. ?You will need to supply basic information about the trust and the trustee who is in charge of managing the assets...
3. Whose Social Security Number goes on an irrevocable trust?
  Answer - An irrevocable trust requires its own tax ID number, called an Employer Identification Number or EIN. It's like a Social Security Number, but instead of being for a person, it is for the trust.You get one online from the IRS website or over the phone by calling 800-829-4933...
4. What is considered an "asset" when setting up a trust account?
  Answer - Assuming you mean a living trust, which is a way to avoid probate, your parents should transfer the ownership of their home, any large bank accounts and nonretirement investment accounts into the trust, as well as their personal property, such as home furnishings and jewelry...
5. How can I get out of half-ownership of property my parents left to me in a living trust?
  Question - When disposing of property in a trust, you are constrained to dealing with it as the trust document specifies.
  1 Expert Answer
6. How should the children sell and divide the family home?
  Question - Before you can sell off the family home, you have to prove that you own it.
  1 Expert Answer
7. Whose Social Security Number goes on an irrevocable trust?
  Question - The IRS makes it surprisingly easy to complete the tasks necessary to set up a trust.
  1 Expert Answer
8. Do I have to pay taxes on a home that was deeded to me?
  Question - You may have to consider not one, but three types of potential taxes on a home you take by deed.
  1 Expert Answer
Tuesday September 02, 2008
1. How do we protect a home that is being rented from being taken over when the owner dies?
  Answer - Your son should ask his father to sign a durable power of attorney, authorizing him to act on his father's behalf with respect to finances and property. This document should go into effect when signed, not upon his father's disability, since it sounds like he needs help managing his financial affairs right now...
2. Will I need probate to change the names on a property deed?
  Answer - The answer depends on local procedures. Start by asking the probate clerk in the county in which your husband died for the correct procedure to follow. When divorce proceedings intersect with probate issues, certain issues stay in the family court system, while others are decided in the probate court...
3. How do we get my mom, who has Alzheimer's, taken off the deed to my dad's home?
  Answer - If your mother earlier signed a durable power of attorney for property management naming someone to act as her agent with respect to property upon her disability, that agent can transfer the property to your dad's name alone.If your mother did not sign such a document and is unable to sign legal documents...
4. How can I protect the annuities that are now in my name when seeking Medicaid coverage?
  Answer - The rules for qualifying for Medicaid, as you've already discovered, are complex. Medicaid began, really, as a welfare program to provide medical care for the indigent. To qualify, a participant may, as a general rule, have no more than $2,000 ($3,000 for a couple) in non-exempt assets...
5. How do we get my mom, who has Alzheimer's, taken off the deed to my dad's home?
  Question - The relative ease or difficulty of changing a deed after incapacity depends on what legal controls were already in place.
  1 Expert Answer
6. How can I protect the annuities that are now in my name when seeking Medicaid coverage?
  Question - Transferring assets in the hope of qualifying for Medicaid eligibility can be risky business.
  1 Expert Answer
7. How do we protect a home that is being rented from being taken over when the owner dies?
  Question - Proactive legal documents can help ease the passing of rental real estate after death.
  1 Expert Answer
8. Will I need probate to change the names on a property deed?
  Question - There are legal work-arounds to changing the name on a deed, but what’s available depends on local legal constraints.
  1 Expert Answer
Friday August 29, 2008
1. How can I legally get payment from my mother -in-aw for a property we co-own?
  Question - When an adult who has dementia is no longer paying bills, it’s time to get some legal device in place so someone else can manage the finances.
  1 Expert Answer
Wednesday August 27, 2008
1. What's the best way to pass title to my mother's house during her lifetime?
  Question - Quitclaiming property can raise tax complications for all involved.
  1 Expert Answer
Friday August 15, 2008
1. How can I put my daughter on the title to my home?
  Answer - You can record a grant deed naming her as a joint tenant. In that case, she would inherit the whole house upon your death without a probate proceeding. Or you could name her as a tenant in common, which would mean that each of you would have the right to leave your share of the house to whomever you choose at death...
2. Should I sell my parents' house if they are no longer able to live alone and have them move in with me?
  Answer - This decision may depend on what's best for them psychologically. If selling the house and moving in with you makes the most sense for them, and they are open to the idea, then that's a reasonable plan.From a tax standpoint, they will be subject to capital gains taxes on the sale of the house, although...
3. How can I put my daughter on the title to my home?
  
  1 Expert Answer
Wednesday August 06, 2008
1. Does a note on a house affect a trust?
  Question - Putting a house in a living trust has little affect on a mortgage still owed on it.
  1 Expert Answer
Tuesday July 22, 2008
1. What's the best way to pass title to my mother's house during her lifetime?
  Answer - If your mother quitclaims the house to you, she will be making a taxable gift to you of the fair market value of the house. She will need to file a gift tax return to report that gift by April 15 of the following year. No tax will be due most likely, though, because the law allows her to give up to ...
2. How can I legally get payment from my mother -in-aw for a property we co-own?
  Answer - It appears that you have two issues to deal with: the immediate issue of paying bills, and the larger issue of your mother-in-law?s ability to manager her financial affairs. Is anyone paying her bills? If she has a durable power of attorney for finances in place, the agent authorized to act in it should be taking care of this...
3. How should the children sell and divide the family home?
  Answer - I'm assuming that your mother either left a will, leaving all her property to you six children equally, or left no will.Either way, you can't sell the home without a probate proceeding confirming that you own it. You'll need to consult with the local probate court if there are no other issues or consider hiring a lawyer to get that proceeding started... 1 Comment
4. How can I get out of half-ownership of property my parents left to me in a living trust?
  Answer - It depends on what the trust specifies about your ownership and whether it gives you any options about selling it.As a practical matter, you are not very likely to find a buyer for half the house if your sister is hostile to that idea. And no, you cannot force your sister to purchase your half unless...
Monday June 16, 2008
1. What can I do to get my money from a trust fund?
  Question - You may have to take legal action to get a stubborn trustee to live up to his or her duties.
  1 Expert Answer
Friday June 13, 2008
1. Is there such a thing as an irrevocable maintenance trust fund?
  Question - Irrevocable trusts are forever. But how the trust property is distributed is a matter of form and format.
  1 Expert Answer
Friday June 06, 2008
1. How do we preserve my deceased father's estate when my mother remarries?
  Question - To find out whether you are slated to get family property when your mother remarries, you have to look at the underlying estate plan.
  1 Expert Answer
Tuesday May 27, 2008
1. Should my mom put my sister's name on the deed to her home?
  Answer - Your mother could do that. But it may not be a great idea for a number of reasons. First, if she puts your sister's name on the deed now, she'll actually be making a taxable gift of one-half the value of the house to her. She'll have to file a gift-tax return by April 15 of the year following the transfer...
Friday May 23, 2008
1. Does a note on a house affect a trust?
  Answer - If your mother put her assets into a living trust to use for her own benefit during her lifetime and then left those assets to you and your brother, the two of you will get the house--along with the mortgage on it--at her death.You and your brother can then either sell the house and pay off the remaining...
2. Is it wise to put an elderly parent's home in trust?
  Answer - It depends.Sorry--that doesn't sound like an answer. But there are a couple of issues to consider before you can make the best decision.First, if either of your parents are ill or just need help managing their finances, then a trust can be an efficient way to manage all of their assets--and you should consider doing it...
3. Are family corporations good or bad?
  Answer - It's one way parents can pass along property to children. But be forewarned: There are complicated rules about gifting shares in private corporations. You are all on safe ground if your parents properly valued those shares and reported the gift of those assets to the IRS if they were above the annual...
4. How do we preserve my deceased father's estate when my mother remarries?
  Answer - It depends on what your parents' estate plan says about who controls the property that your father left behind. If he left it all to your mother, then what she does with it is her business, and not yours. And if you are your mother's financial agent, acting under a power of attorney that she signed,...
5. If I'm the partner on a friend's checking account, is it legal for me to distribute the funds after death?
  Answer - Double check with the bank to be sure you are a joint owner on the account. If you are listed as a joint owner of the checking account--and it sounds as if you are--then you can certainly write checks for your neighbor. You could also write checks to cover your own needs, so your neighbor showed a lot of trust in adding you to his account...
6. Is there such a thing as an irrevocable maintenance trust fund?
  Answer - An irrevocable trust is one that can't be taken back or "revoked" after it's established. Such a trust can be set up to operate in a number of different ways, depending on the trustmaker's goals and the trust beneficiary's needs.It can provide a steady stream of income to a beneficiary, which is sometimes called a unitrust...
7. What can I do to get my money from a trust fund?
  Answer - If you are named as a beneficiary of a trust set up in California, you need not live in the state to be entitled to take money under it. And California law gives you the right to see a copy of the trust document as it relates to you. If the trustee will not give you a copy, or gives you a copy...
8. If you receive money from an estate in trust for another individual, who pays the income tax on it?
  Answer - Accounting for trust income tax can be really complicated. The basic rule is that, for distributions of trust income, the income tax is paid, up to a certain point, by the person who receives the distribution at his or her individual income tax rates...