How to resolve AdBlock issue? 
News
Unlike federal bankruptcy law, California’s enforcement of judgment law does not protect the various types of qualified higher education savings accounts, including so-called “529 College Savings Plans.”
Thus, for example, if a California resident owns a 529 College Savings Plan and owes money to a judgment creditor then the judgment creditor can proceed against the 529 College Savings Plan just like any other asset not exempt from judgment collections.
Unless a debtor files for and obtains relief through a federal bankruptcy petition before the creditor levies on the account, or else lives in one of 27 or more other states that do protect college savings accounts, the college savings account owned by the debtor may be lost to their judgment creditors.
So how can a California resident protect the money he or she has set aside to pay the future college tuition costs, etc., of his or her children, grandchildren, or other relatives, from levies by his or her own creditors?
One possibility is to gift the money, sooner than later, so that the account is no longer available to that person's subsequent creditors.
A simple approach, but not without risk, is to gift the money to a trusted relative who lives in another state where college tuition plans are protected from claims by creditors of the account owner. Have the relative establish the college savings plan.
For example, a parent gifts money to an aunt or uncle of one of his or her children. The aunt or uncle then establishes a section 529 college savings plan for the parent's children.
Naturally, as the account owner, the aunt or uncle has important powers over who benefits from the plan including controlling who benefits. So the parent, in this scenario, would only use this approach if he full confidence in the aunt or uncle.
Alternatively, the parent might establish an irrevocable trust for the education of the parent's children and/or grandchildren, and then gift the money to the trustee, who would establish college savings plans owned by the trustee.
The irrevocable trust approach is a completed gift of the money because unlike the revocable living trust the irrevocable trust is not available to pay the settlor’s needs and debts.
An irrevocable trust also offers much more assurance and estate planning flexibility for the parent's intended beneficiaries than gifting to a trusted relative.
The trust can also serve other purposes than paying for education. A trust, however, entails attorney fees to establish the trust and may entail trust tax return preparation fees.
Timing is everything. Whenever a person makes a gift there is always a chance that the person's creditors may later seek to reverse the gift claiming that it was a so-called “fraudulent conveyance.”
To avoid this, the parent, in our scenario, would be making periodic gifts either to the trusted relative or else to the trustee of the irrevocable trust before anything bad happens that subsequently results in a lawsuit.
What if the parent were to make a large gift either soon after an event occurs that results in a lawsuit (such as an accident) or worse yet soon after an adverse court judgment is entered against that person? Those gifts might arguably be reversed as fraudulent conveyances.
Saving for higher education costs involve balancing many unforeseen risks. Unfortunately, living in California means one of these risks is that qualified higher savings accounts are available to one's creditors, just like any other non exempt asset.
Knowing this risk, a person may choose to act proactively and to legitimately put the money beyond the reach of one's creditors. Doing so, however, all depends on acting timely.
Dennis A. Fordham, Attorney, is a State Bar-Certified Specialist in estate planning, probate and trust law. His office is at 870 S. Main St., Lakeport, Calif. He can be reached at
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Lake County Zoning Administrator will consider approving MINOR USE PERMIT MUP 16-23 of Terry Kowing and Cheryl Brown in accordance with Lake County Code to allow a solid six (6) foot fence in the required front yard setback located at 21047 & 21057 Berry Street, Middletown, CA and further described as APN 024-362-15 & 16.
The Planner processing this application is Mark Roberts (707) 263-2221 or
The Zoning Administrator will approve this Minor Use Permit if no written request for a public hearing is submitted by 5:00 p.m, on September 7, 2016 to the community Development Department, 255 N. Forbes St., Lakeport, CA.
Should a timely request for a public hearing be filed, one will be held on September 14, 2016 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference room C, 3rd Floor of the Courthouse.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Robert Massarelli, Director
By: ______________________________________
Danae Bowen, Office Assistant III
John Thomas Bigley
Nov. 27, 1958 – Aug. 20, 2016
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – John passed away peacefully after a long battle with lung cancer.
He is survived by his daughter, Shannon Spivack; grandchildren, twins, Kolbee and Korbin; sister, Chris (Rodney) Barnes; niece, Jessica (Dave) Estes; great-nephew, Abel Estes and mother, Sharon Hubman.
There will be no services and his ashes will be scattered as John wished.
Arrangements by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary, 707-263-0357 or 707-994-5611, or visit www.chapelofthelakes.com .
NORTH COAST, Calif. – A record number of whales are suffering from entanglements in California waters – 2015 saw 57 whales entangled off our coast, which is the highest total since the National Marine Fisheries Service started keeping records in 1982.
Just in the first half of this year alone, there were another 40 reports of entangled whales off California’s coast. Many of these whales are becoming entangled in lost or abandoned crab fishing gear.
North Coast Sen. Mike McGuire’s legislation that will help permanently protect whales by removing lost and abandoned crab fishing gear from the ocean has been approved by both houses of the State Legislature and will now head to Gov. Brown’s desk.
SB 1287 received widespread and overwhelming support in the Senate and was approved Thursday by a vote of the full State Assembly.
“We need this legislation, now more than ever. Whale entanglement numbers are skyrocketing off the California coast and we’re bringing together crabbers and environmentalists to get this common sense bill signed into law,” McGuire said.
The Whale Protection & Crab Gear Retrieval Act, which was proactively initiated by the thousands of hard working men and women who make up California’s mighty crab fleet, would create a regulatory program with incentives for fishermen to retrieve Dungeness crab fishing gear that would otherwise be lost in the ocean.
It’s estimated that thousands of pots are lost every season and these pieces of gear could have hundreds of feet of rope attached to a locater buoy.
The lost gear has created marine debris and entanglement hazards for whales and other marine life, along with others in the crab and salmon fleets.
“In light of the record number of whale entanglements over the last several months, we need to get this bill passed and retrieval programs in place to ensure California’s beloved humpbacks and blue whales will have the protection they need to thrive,” McGuire said. “I’m grateful for Assemblyman Wood’s partnership to get this bill passed.”
“The people who rely on a healthy ocean environment for their living along the Pacific coast have come together to protect whales and other marine life,” said Wood, “and is it such a wonderful example of everyone understanding the mutual benefit of working together to solve this growing problem.”
Crab fishermen continue to take the lead on the whale entanglement issue and many are already taking part in a voluntary pilot project that was initiated two years ago.
Approximately 1,500 lost crab pots have been collected in that program. SB 1287 builds upon the successful pilot project by advancing a statewide solution to the growing problem.
Based on recommendations from the Dungeness Crab Task Force, SB 1287 will call on the Department of Fish and Wildlife to establish a retrieval program. One hundred percent of the program will be paid for by industry related fees, not the taxpayers.
Dungeness crab fishermen, who obtain a retrieval permit through this program, will collect old crab traps after the crab season has closed each year. Those fishermen will be paid a recovery bounty for each trap retrieved from the ocean.
The bill also establishes a fee to be paid by the owner that lost or abandoned the crab trap. A crab fisherman who doesn’t buy back their lost or abandoned crab traps will not be able to get their vessel permit the next season.
The creation of a self-perpetuating program to recover fishing gear is a necessary action of the commercial Dungeness crab fishing industry to continue operating as a responsible, sustainable fishery.
“The Dungeness crab fishery is in the top tier of California’s commercial seafood catch and the entire industry has weathered a challenging few years, including the historic delay of this year’s Dungeness crab season,” McGuire said. “This gear retrieval program will be a great step forward in cleaning up our oceans and making a safer environment for the people who work the Pacific for their living and the whales and marine life that call the ocean home.”
A broad coalition of fishing and environmental groups are unified in supporting SB 1287 which will increase mariner safety while reducing marine debris and the potential for whale entanglement, including: Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, Sierra Club, Californian’s Against Waste, California Coastkeeper Alliance, Earthjustice, Golden Gate Salmon Association, Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association, Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom, The Marine Mammal Center, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Trinidad Bay Fishermen’s Marketing Assn, Crescent City Fishermen’s Assn, Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Assn, the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Assn, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ocean Conservancy, Oceana, Surfrider and many more.
SACRAMENTO – Cal Fire announced this week that it will be awarding nearly $16 million for fire prevention grants to local fire departments and fire safe councils to reduce the threat of large wildfires.
The 2016-17 State Responsibility Area Fire Prevention Fund and tree mortality grants are aimed at reducing the threat wildfires as well as dead and dying trees in and around communities within the State Responsibility Area (SRA).
“In just the last couple of weeks, we have seen how destructive this fire season has already been and the critical role fire prevention projects play in helping us protect lives and property,” said Chief Ken Pimlott, Cal Fire director. "As the drought continues, and millions of more trees die off, we must take every step to prepare our neighborhoods and communities from wildfire.”
The 2016-17 Cal Fire grants have a one-time appropriation of 10 million dollars that is intended to address the risk and potential impact of wildfire and dead and dying trees on habitable structures in the SRA.
The grants also provide a one-time allocation of six million dollars for fire prevention projects that are not limited to the SRA.
The target audiences for the grants include, but are not limited to, local government agencies, fire districts and fire safe councils to augment recent fire prevention projects.
The grant amount will be limited to a maximum of $200,000 per project. This will allow for broad distribution of grant funds to local government agencies and organizations throughout the state.
The 2016-17 grant applications are due Sept. 28, 2016, by 3 p.m.
Cal Fire is encouraging a wide range of applicants throughout the state to apply for this funding.
Interested parties can get more information at Cal Fire's grants Web page at http://www.fire.ca.gov/grants/grants.php .
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – County and fire officials are planning to move into the next phase of providing information and services for Clayton fire survivors.
The county's Clayton Fire Local Assistance Center has been extended through 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 27.
The center, located the former Lower Lake Bank building at 16195 Main St., is offering a variety of services, including replacement of vital records; information on unemployment, cleanup and building; insurance counseling, help from the Red Cross; and vouchers or gift cards for those who lost their homes.
This coming week, the center will transition into a more informal mini assistance center at Lake County Adult Services, 16170 C Main Street in Lower Lake. That center will offer information and contacts for agencies.
Lake County Fire's Lower Lake Station 65 will be open until 8 p.m. Saturday for those needing to pick up protective gear for cleanup, water and other donated items, including dog and cat food.
The station plans to move out of doing daily distribution services at 5 p.m. Sunday, but will make resources available on an as-needed basis.
They also will have a bulletin board available with updated information on the recovery effort.
For more information call 707-994-2170.