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Loose ends can otherwise unravel some part of one’s estate plan. Let’s take a look at some common problem areas.
Examine who are the legally designated primary and alternative beneficiaries to your retirement accounts.
Retirement plans are a sizable element of many people’s estates. At the participant’s death, retirement plans transfer without probate according to the participant’s designation of death beneficiary form.
You need to make sure that you designation of beneficiary form names both primary and alternative beneficiaries and is properly executed.
If the retirement plan includes marital earnings, then it is necessary to have your spouse countersign the beneficiary form to transfer 100 percent of the plan benefits.
Customized designation of alternative beneficiary instructions can and should usually be attached to the standard designation of beneficiary form. That way, you can both tailor your designation of alternative beneficiaries beyond what is allowed by the form and not be restricted to accept the boiler-plate contingency planning that the form otherwise imposes.
If your trust is named as beneficiary of a retirement plan then is the trust properly drafted? That is, after you die does your trust meet the IRS regulations to allow maximum income tax deferred growth (i.e., based on the individual beneficiaries’ own ages) with the trust as beneficiary?
Is naming the trust as the beneficiary of the retirement account necessary, or should you simply name the individual beneficiaries directly?
Typically the individual beneficiaries are named, and a carefully tailored trust is only named as beneficiary when necessary, such as in the case of protecting a special needs beneficiary eligibility to receive needs based government benefits or to protect the beneficiary’s inheritance assets from his/her own creditors.
Make sure that you have appropriately transferred title to all assets that should be in your living trust.
Assets held in your name outside of your living trust will otherwise be subject to probate (if the assets’ total gross value exceeds $100,000), unless the assets are non probate assets; such as assets owned in joint tenancy and financial assets that pass to designated beneficiaries.
People sometimes neglect to transfer title to all their real property (including out-of-state property) into their living trust.
Also, if a special needs trust to be established pursuant to your living trust, after you die, then it is doubly important that they be held in your trust.
Pets sometimes get over looked. Have you provided that your pets be taken care of when you are disabled and after you die?
Does your power of attorney authorize your agent to pay for the care and custody of your beloved pet during periods when you are sick and unable to take care of your affairs?
How does your trust or will provide for the care of your pet after you die? Does it ensure that only humane “no kill” shelters can receive your pet?
Have any of your beneficiaries’ circumstances materially changed? That is, does leaving their inheritance outright to them still make sense?
Is a special needs trust now needed to protect a special needs beneficiary’s continued receipt of needs based government benefits? Is a custodial account now necessary for an under aged (minor) beneficiary?
Tying up loose ends prevents unintended negative consequences.
Identifying any loose ends is why you should periodically have your estate plan reviewed.
A general rule of thumb is to examine your estate plan once every five years, and sooner if any changes occur that materially impact your existing plan.
Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at
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“Not a cent of taxpayer money should be spent on flashlights, ashtrays or other unnecessary items, most of which likely end up in landfills,” said Brown. “Every taxpayer dollar we save by cutting waste is a dollar than can be used to pay for critical public safety and social services.”
A statewide review revealed that from 2007 to 2010 state agencies and departments spent a total of $7.5 million on items including key chains, squeeze toys, pens, hats, trinkets, shirts, cups and other gift items known colloquially as “S.W.A.G,” or “Stuff We All Get.”
These include promotional and marketing items across almost every agency in the state.
Friday’s ban follows Brown’s request earlier this week for the Bureau of State Audits and the Little Hoover Commission to each provide a list of “Top 10 Actions” California can take to cut government waste and increase efficiency.
The governor has also issued executive orders to freeze hiring across state government and cut state cell phones and the passenger vehicle fleet in half.
These actions are part of Brown’s efforts to save money this fiscal year and to cut $363 million in operational costs next fiscal year.
A breakdown of “S.W.A.G” expenditures from 2007 to 2010 is below.
S.W.A.G Expenditures 2007-10
Business, Transportation & Housing Agency: $5,088,037
State and Consumer Services Agency: $1,154,960
Health and Human Services Agency: $778,678
Department of Food & Agriculture: $175,530
Labor and Workforce Development Agency: $129,012
California Volunteers: $77,387
Environmental Protection Agency: $48,317
Emergency Management Agency: $41,810
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: $12,201
Department of Veterans Affairs: $4,968
Total: $7,510,900
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Pacific Gas & Electric said Friday afternoon that it was continuing to work to restore power to customers in the south county, many of whom were reporting being without power for 36 hours or more.
At around 3 p.m. PG&E was reporting a total of 100 outages that was the cause of 9,700 customers in Hidden Valley Lake, Middletown, Clearlake, Lower Lake and Cobb still being without power, according to company spokesman Paul Moreno.
Shortly after 4 p.m. Moreno reported that the number of affected customers had been reduced to 8,000, with power restored to some areas of Clearlake, Lower Lake and Cobb within the previous hour.
The winter storm Thursday had done “significant” damage to power equipment in Lake County, PG&E had previously reported.
As of noon on Friday, PG&E had identified four failed transformers, 44 damaged utility poles and many wires down, Moreno said.
“We do have crews working on several circuits, including some of the large outage,” said Moreno.
Lake County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said shortly before 4:30 p.m. Friday afternoon that downed power lines were the cause of several area road closures, including Anderson Springs at Highway 175, and Golf Road and roadways connected to it in Cobb, which are expected to be closed until Saturday morning.
Stangland said Big Canyon Road in Cobb is closed due to downed poles and power lines from Ettawa Springs Road to the Howard Resort at the top of the ridge, with no estimated time of opening. He said that a Cal Fire hand crew was working in the area to clear downed trees.
In addition, Bottle Rock Road is open to Sulphur Creek Road, where Stangland said PG&E was working on the downed pole and lines.
Stangland said it's estimated that the section from Sulphur Creek Road to Highway 175 will be closed for approximately four more days due to downed trees, power poles and power lines.
Moreno said crews were at work “at a number of sites” around Lake County, with more customers expected to have their power on Friday evening.
A major challenge for repair crews remained getting access to damaged equipment due to the weather and terrain, Moreno said.
Moreno said the company has contracted helicopters doing patrols to identify damaged equipment.
“We were able to fly helicopter patrols today throughout Lake County due to a break in the weather, and that has helped us make assessments so we could continue restoration,” he said.
Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department said PG&E had three helicopters coming and going from a landing zone near the Lake County Fire Protection District on Olympic Drive.
“They've been going in and out of there since yesterday,” he said Friday afternoon.
Moreno said five additional crews, which have between two and four people each, arrived in Lake County on Friday to work on power equipment repairs.
“Dozens of additional line workers have been brought in to support local crews,” he said.
PG&E staff was taking advantage of daylight hours and working 16-hour shifts to get power restored, according to Moreno.
As for county road crews, their work was continuing, too, Stangland said.
On Friday afternoon road crews continued to work to clear the Gifford Springs area, which Stangland estimated would be open by 6 p.m. Friday.
However, he noted late Friday afternoon that snow was falling in Cobb.
He said snow had closed Elk Mountain Road inn Upper Lake from the Middle Creek Campground to Lake Pillsbury, and Bartlett Springs Road at MPM 6.0 also closed because of snowfall.
County road crews are scheduled to start clearing Bartlett Springs Road on Monday before moving on to Elk Mountain Road, Stangland said.
Caltrans reported Friday afternoon that Highway 175 from the junction of Highway 29 to five miles west of Middletown remained closed due to downed trees.
No travel restrictions were listed over Highway 29 – the route over Mount St. Helena had been reopened earlier in the day – and Highway 20 also was reported by Caltrans as open.
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LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Following a day of heavy snow and rain, power outages and dangerous road conditions, many area residents were waiting for power to be restored and weather forecasters predicted Lake County could have still more rain and snow to come.
Thursday's snow – much of it falling in the first half of the day – caused school closures in the Kelseyville, Konocti and Middletown school districts, shut down area roadways and contributed to falling tress that in turn knocked down utility lines and poles, as Lake County News has reported.
First responders – law enforcement from various agencies, firefighters and paramedics – spent an exhausting day running to what seemed liked endless calls – health-related assists, fires, crashes and emergencies caused by downed utility and power lines.
The California Highway Patrol's incident logs recorded well over 100 incidents for the day, many times the number of incidents seen on a regular basis, based on Lake County News' daily observations.
One of the major fallouts for Lake County's residents was the loss of power.
Pacific Gas & Electric reported early in the day that the storms knocked out power to a total of 16,000 county customers, a number which early in the afternoon had been reduced to about 12,600 customers, according to PG&E spokesperson Brandi Ehlers.
County Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said he received word that PG&E was moving 27 crews in the county to work on repairs.
Late Thursday, PG&E spokesperson Jana Morris said a company report on the storms highlighted that Lake County – like other foothill and mountain areas of the state – “has experienced a significant amount of damage due to the storm.”
Morris said PG&E crews were working through the night to continue repairs.
One of the issues that PG&E was encountering in Lake County and in the Sierra division was the combination of difficult terrain and snow, which was making it a challenge to access some equipment that required repair, Morris said.
In some cases, due to safety concerns, PG&E staff may have to wait until daylight to continue work, said Morris.
Shortly before midnight Thursday an estimated 3,800 customers in Clearlake remained without power, Morris said.
Other areas with continuing outages included Cobb, 1,650 customers; Hidden Valley Lake, 1500; Middletown, 1,000; Lower Lake, 800; Kelseyville, 350; Clearlake Park, 11; and Clearlake Oaks and Lakeport each had two.
Morris said about 250 additional customers in Cobb were expected to have power restored by midnight, and 350 more in Lower Lake by about 2 a.m. Friday.
One transformer on Winchester in Lower Lake that had been under repair Thursday evening blew up once it was reenergized, causing a fire concern, according to radio reports.
Power losses caused issues for the county's sanitation district on Thursday.
Jill Shaul with Lake County Special Districts said they were receiving calls from their alarm company regarding power failures and high water levels in the Southeast Regional Wastewater System, which serves Clearlake and Lower Lake.
Power failures had been reported at pump stations one, two, three, 15 and 17, Shaul said, but those failures hadn't resulted in any effluent discharges.
“We're holding our own,” she said.
The Lake County Sheriff's Office also encountered some communications problems Thursday.
Capt. James Bauman said he was the one to discover the problem with the agency's Siegler repeater, which is used for its primary law enforcement channel.
When he left the office and tried to call in, “Nobody was talking back to me.”
Some checking revealed the repeater wasn't functioning correctly, Bauman said.
Other agencies, including CHP and local fire districts, also rely on the repeater, although Bauman said they weren't having issues. “It's just our frequency that's having a problem.”
The agency moved all of its law enforcement traffic over to the Office of Emergency Services frequency. Bauman said the owner of the property where the repeater is located was standing ready to help them access it to make repairs.
Bauman couldn't say definitely that weather was the cause, but noted, it was the “most interesting weather day we've had in a long time.”
The National Weather Service said snow could fall to about 1,600 feet overnight and into Friday morning, although it's not expected to accumulate. Showers are expected to decrease throughout the weekend.
The Western Weather Group said the storm that hit Lake County Thursday was part of a storm system coming from the Gulf of Alaska.
Thursday night the weather broke and the skies cleared for a time, long enough for a bright full moon to be visible. The cold, clear conditions raised concern for nighttime ice.
Caltrans and county road crews plowed state highways and county roads throughout the day, trying to clear the way for drivers, many of whom found themselves stuck in the snow as they tried to make their ways to home, work or school Thursday.
Early Thursday evening, county Road Superintendent Steve Stangland said Butts Canyon Road, Soda Bay Road, and all roads in the Clear Lake Riviera and Riviera Heights areas had been reopened.
He said Bottle Rock Road was open to Sulphur Creek Road, where PG&E was working on downed pole and lines. Fallen power lines also had closed Point Lakeview at Bayless Cove near Lower Lake and Anderson Springs at Highway 175.
PG&E was making repairs on Siegler Canyon Road between Perini and Big Canyon Road. Stangland said Siegler Canyon was open with a detour on Perini Road, Stangland said.
Stangland said 12 plow vehicles were to work through the night to open roads in the Cobb Mountain and Middletown areas that were blocked by power lines. He said crews also would remove snow, rocks and downed trees on New Long Valley, Sulphur Bank, North and Lakeshore Boulevard.
On Thursday night, Caltrans reported that some restrictions still remained on state highways.
Highway 175 was closed from the junction of Highway 29 to fives miles west of Middletown due to downed trees.
Chains or snow tire requirements remained in force on two other stretches of Highway 175 – from 5.5 miles east of the junction of Highway 101 in Mendocino County to 1.8 miles west of the Lake/Mendocino County line over the Hopland Grade, and 7 miles west to four miles west of Middletown.
Highway 29 remained closed over Mount St. Helena from 5.5 miles north of Calistoga in Napa County to the junction of Highway 175 in Middletown because of the snowfall, according to Caltrans.
Caltrans said travel restrictions had been lifted on Highway 20.
Drivers can find the latest conditions online at the Caltrans Web site, www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi, or by calling 800-427-7623.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
The group will be honored at the sixth annual Mendocino College Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony and banquet, which will be held on Saturday, March 12, at 6 p.m. at Barra of Mendocino in Redwood Valley.
Included in the group are Brian Sallee, a Middletown High School graduate, and Lisa Falleri, who graduated from Kelseyville High School.
For tickets, please contact Anna Daugherty at 707-468-3255.
Bios of the five inductees follow.
Brian Sallee
Sallee played football at Mendocino College from 2002 to 2003, and was team captain in 2003.
During his time with the college he recorded 86 tackles and 36 assists, and in 2003 had 12.5 sacks.
He was an All Conference Selection in 2002 and 2003, and was named Defensive Lineman of the Year in 2003.
Sallee went on to accept an athletic scholarship at Duke University in North Carolina.
Lisa Falleri
Falleri played volleyball and basketball for Mendocino College from 1991 to 1992.
She was named Team MVP in volleyball in 1991 and 1992, and Team MVP in basketball in 1992.
In 1991 and 1992 she was named a BVC All Conference Selection for volleyball, taking BVC All Conference honors in 1992 for basketball. In both 1991 and 1991 she was named to the BVC Academic All Conference.
Falleri later accepted an athletic scholarship at California State University, Chico.
TJ Bird
Bird graduated from Cloverdale High School and went on to play baseball for Mendocino College from 1999 to 2000.
Bird was team captain in 2000, the same year he became a BVC All Conference Selection.
In 2000 he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies.
Ben Riley
Riley, who graduated from Grace Davis High School in Modesto, was a basketball standout for Mendocino College from 1997 to 1998.
He was team captain in 1998, becoming the state's No. 1 scorer with a 27-point average. Riley would become the No. 2 all-time scorer in Mendocino College history.
Riley accepted athletic scholarship with the College of Idaho in Caldwell.
Marc Selberg
Selberg, a Cloverdale High School, played football from 1999 to 2000 for Mendocino College.
Selberg was an All Conference Selection in 1999 and 2000, and was named Offensive Lineman of the Year for 1999 and 2000.
He accepted a scholarship to Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia.
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LAKEPORT, Calif. – Computer access is improving for Mendocino College students at the Lake Center thanks to a donation to the Mendocino College Foundation.
College and foundation staff recently announced that a $1,000 gift is enabling the college to employ aides for additional hours and keep the Lake Center’s computer lab open on Fridays.
“As funding for some of our student support services has declined in recent years, the donation has helped us to provide access to the computer technology that has become so essential for student success,” said Mark Rawitsch, dean of the college centers in Lakeport and Willits.
As a result of budget cuts, the center’s computer lab was closed on Fridays during the fall semester.
Students requested that the lab be open to them on Fridays, said Lake Center Operations Supervisor Arlene Peters.
College students may use the computers in the lab between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and now from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Fridays.
Although the computer lab is not open on Thursdays (closed due to classes scheduled in the lab), the Learning Lab at the Lake Center offers eight to 10 additional computers for student use.
The Learning Lab is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m., and Fridays, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Rawitsch suggested the allocation as the best way to utilize the recent gift from Mary Lou and Wade Koeninger.
The funding allows the college to employ two computer lab aides and keep the lab open extra hours this semester, the dean said.
Elaine Bishop, a 16-year employee of the college, and her husband Trett are the individuals offering assistance to computer users in the lab.
“Since many of our local students do not have easy access to computers at home, we’re pleased to be able to increase our Lakeport computer lab hours for students this semester,” said Rawitsch.
Mendocino College Foundation Executive Director Katie Wojcieszak has assisted the Koeningers in their continuing efforts to help Mendocino College students, both present and future.
For more information about making donations to the foundation or about foundation scholarships and programs, call the foundation office at 707-467-1018 or visit the Web site at http://foundation.mendocino.edu.
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