The Epidemic of Financial Elder Abuse & Undue Influence

Married couples often don’t give much thought to the characterization of their property as community or separate. In general, community property is all real or personal property acquired by a married person during the marriage. Separate property is all property owned by the person before the marriage, all property acquired by the person after marriage by gift, bequest or devise, and the rents and profits from the person’s separate property.

High property values in California highlight the need for careful property tax planning. If you have owned your property for many years, it is likely that your property's assessed value for property tax purposes is significantly lower than today's fair market value. If your property should be reassessed, you or your family members could be faced with a significant increase in the annual property tax.

It’s critical that the couple understand and adhere to the rules governing their acts. Married clients often establish a Family Trust to control the disposition of their assets During their lifetimes, clients may transmute (that is, change the form of) property, whether from separate to community, from community to separate or from the separate property of one spouse to the separate property of the other spouse. A transmutation isn’t valid unless made in writing by an express declaration that’s made, joined in, consented to or accepted by the spouse whose interest in the property is adversely affected. The writing must contain language that expressly states that the characterization or ownership of the property is being changed.