WILLS, TRUSTS, AND ESTATES: THE ESSENTIALS OF
WEALTH MANAGEMENT
VI PHAM, ATTORNEY AT LAW

WHY PLAN?
 Make your intentions clear
 Avoid probate
 Control from six feet under

WHEN THERE IS NO PLAN
 Court Intervention
 Intestate Succession
 Death without a Will/Valid Will
 California: Per Stirpes distribution with Right of Representation
 Surviving Spouse
 Children
 Parents
 Siblings
 Nieces, Nephews

PER STIRPES DISTRIBUTION: RIGHT OF REPRESENTATION
Marge (pre-
deceased)
Homer
(decedent)
Bart (deceased)
Millhouse (1/6) –
right of
representation
Ralph (1/6) – right of
representation
Lisa
(1/3)
Maggie
(1/3)

REAL PROPERTY TITLE: WHY DOES IT MATTER?
 Tenancy in Common
 Interests do not have to be equal
 Subject to probate
 No right of survivorship
 Joint Tenancy
 Ownership passes by operation of law without probate
 Unities of time, title, interest and possession
 Owners take interest at same time
 Receive title from same source
 Identical interests to other joint tenants
 Undivided ownership interest
 Right of Survivorship
 Community Property
 All property acquired by either spouse during marriage

RECORDING REQUESTED BY
AND WHEN RECORDED MAIL TO
ROBERT AND ELIZABETH SMITH
16007 Crenshaw Blvd.
Torrance, CA 90506
A.P.N. 3525-381-011
SPACE ABOVE THIS LINE FOR RECORDER'S USE
TRUST TRANSFER DEED
(Excluded from Reappraisal Under Proposition 13, i.e., Calif. Const. Art. 13A §1 et seq.)
The undersigned Grantors, ROBERT SMITH and ELIZABETH SMITH, declare under penalty of perjury under the
laws of the State of California that the following is true and correct:
Documentary transfer tax is $ NONE. This conveyance transfers an interest into or out of a Living Trust, R & T
11930.
This is a transfer of property that is residential property that will be owner-occupied. It is EXEMPT from fees under
the Building Homes and Jobs Act. Govt. Code §27388.1(a)(2).
GRANTORS: ROBERT SMITH and ELIZABETH SMITH, husband and wife as community property,
hereby grant to:
GRANTEES: ROBERT SMITH and ELIZABETH SMITH, as Trustees of the ROBERT and ELIZABETH
SMITH TRUST dated June 20, 2020
all that real property situated in the City of Torrance in the County of Los Angeles, State of California, described as:
LOT 32 OF TRACT 21262, IN THE CITY OF TORRANCE, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, AS PER MAP RECORDED IN BOOK 581, PAGES 38 AND 39, OF MAPS IN THE
OFFICE OF THE COUNTY RECORDER OF SAID COUNTY
Dated:
ROBERT SMITH
ELIZABETH SMITH
MAIL TAX STATEMENTS TO:
ROBERT AND ELIZABETH SMITH, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90506

BIRTH, DEATH, AND TAXES
 Death Taxes
 Charged to decedent’s estate
 Not applicable in California
 Federal Estate Tax Exemption for 2021: $11.7 million
 Gift Tax: $15,000 annual per recipient, per spouse; $11.7 lifetime
 Giver needs to file gift tax return
 Triggers:
 Parents/Grandparents paying for vacations, educational expenses, weddings, joint account holders on a non-spouse bank
account