Julie King

With 30 years’ experience, Julie King practices law with the highest standards of ethics and professionalism. She is easy to speak with and talks in plain English (not legalese). Julie handles a wide variety of estate planning and business matters including: (1) ESTATE PLANNING - wills and trusts, health care directives, powers of attorney, special needs trusts, pet trusts, grant deeds and more; and (2) BUSINESS LAW - corporation/LLC/partnership formation, annual meeting minutes, corporate records, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, and employee training.

Julie served as in-house counsel to major international corporations, including Toshiba America, where she worked for 15 years and hired lawyers throughout the world. She has been a "client", so she understands clients' needs in a way many lawyers do not. Contact Julie today and see the difference!

Call or email today for a FREE initial consultation! (831) 275-1002 Julie@PierceKingLaw.com

Univ of California at Los Angeles

Undergraduate Degree

Loyola Law School

Law Degree

Assistant General Counsel

Toshiba America

Current

Julie was an in-house counsel for Toshiba for 15 years and handled a wide variety of matters for the corporation. She helped the Human Resources Dept. with employment matters and policy drafting, the Sales Dept. with contracts, the Finance Dept. with guaranties, and anyone else in the company who needed assistance in any area of law. She would be honored to do the same for you. Call today!

Founding Attorney

Pierce King, P.C., a Professional Law Corporation

2012 - Current

BUSINESS LAW - Negotiating and drafting a variety of complex business contracts, including an international Private Cloud Infrastructure and Management Services Agreement and a Funding Agreement involving the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. - Forming C and S Corporations, LLCs and Partnerships, and drafting documents related thereto, such as Buy-Sell and Operating Agreements, Bylaws, Annual Meeting Minutes and Board Resolutions. ESTATE PLANNING - Drafting a variety of wills and trusts (including Revocable Living Trusts, Special Needs Trusts and Pet Trusts), Health Care Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney, as well as Grant Deeds and other documentation relating to funding trusts. - Counseling clients in Trust Administration matters - Preparing, filing and representing clients in Probate actions

License to Practice Law

California Bar Association

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Reader's Poll

2021

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Reader's Poll

2020

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Reader's Poll

2019

Woman of Distinction in the Legal Community

Los Angeles Bar Association

Volunteer of the Month (Awarded multiple times.)

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Monterey County Business Council

Board of Directors

2017 - Current

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Ambassador

2014 - Current

Monterey County Bar Association

Member

2007 - Current

California State Bar  # 132813

Member

1987 - Current

Orange County Bar Association, Corporate Counsel Section

Co-Chair

1987 - Current

California

Since 1987

• Free Consultation
• Credit Cards Accepted
• Rates, Retainers and Additional Information
  Pierce King, P.C. bills hourly or charges a flat fee, depending on the type of matter. On occasion, Pierce King may enter into an alternative fee arrangement to accommodate clients in special circumstances.

Business Law

Business Contracts, Business Dissolution, Business Finance, Business Formation, Business Litigation, Franchising, Mergers & Acquisitions, Partnership & Shareholder Disputes

Estate Planning

Guardianship & Conservatorship Estate Administration, Health Care Directives, Trusts, Wills

• Form Corporations, LLCs and Partnerships
• Business Transactions & Contracts
• Trusts, Wills, Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives
• Real Estate Grant Deeds and Related Documentation

Q. Where would I be able to find a copy of a trust made 1977-1981, LA County, CA? I am sole executor. I've never seen it.

28 July 2021

A: Trusts are not public documents so, unless there was a probate matter filed in Probate Court, your best bet would be asking family members if anyone has a copy. You may want to try the court in the county in which the person lived and the county in which the person died (if different) to see if there was a probate opened and, if so, ask to see a copy of the file. That MIGHT contain a copy of the trust. If you know the name of the lawyer or law firm that prepared the trust, you may be able to get a copy if the person who passed away signed a release allowing you to get a copy. Best wishes.

Q. A (long time) divorced woman died intestate, how do heirs claim estate? Specifically real property?

28 July 2021

A: Since the woman likely has assets exceeding $166,250 (it's hard to find real estate worth less than that in California!), her family will have to go through a court proceeding called probate before they can inherit her assets. If she had signed a Trust before passing away, the family would not have to go through the court process, which often lasts between one and two years. But, unfortunately, since she did no estate planning, her family will have no choice but to go through the court process. To start a probate, a Petition must be prepared and filed with the court, and a filing fee paid to the court. If her family has not prepared legal documents previously, they will likely need to hire a probate attorney to assist them. Please let this case serve as an example to you and your loved ones. If you have assets exceeding $166,250, you likely need a Trust (not a Will) to avoid the whole probate process. I wish you all the best.

Q. My husband will not set up a trust, our assets are about 1.75 million. What happens if he should suddenly die?

25 July 2021

A: The law in California is that, when someone dies owning assets with a total value of $166,250 or higher, the deceased person’s loved ones must wait 1 - 2 years before they inherit the assets. The loved ones will be forced to go through a court process called probate after the person dies. Probate is similar to an IRS audit in that there are required accountings and paperwork that must be presented to the court, and literally every penny must be accounted for. If your husband left change on the top of his dresser, you would need to count it and add it to a spreadsheet. Some assets do not need to go through probate if they are titled in certain ways. But the bottom line is that HAVING A TRUST AVOIDS THE WHOLE PROBATE PROCESS, so long as the trust owners keep their assets properly in the trust. With trusts, families can privately distribute the deceased person’s assets (as opposed to probate, which is entirely public, so anyone can learn how much money you had, what debts you owed, who is inheriting which assets, etc.) Also, with a trust, the family receives their inheritance much more quickly and easily. I don’t know why your husband doesn’t want to set up a trust, but you could still protect your loved ones by setting up your own trust that would cover your half of the community property and all of your separate property. If your husband says he does not want to spend the money setting up a trust, tell him the probate lawyers of the world are thrilled about his decision. Lawyers make ten times the legal fees in probate as they do setting up trusts. So your husband is both failing to protect his family from a completely-avoidable probate process, he will be leaving his family much less money because a chunk of it will go to the probate lawyer, who will thank him for paying the higher fees. (Although that was said with a bit of jest, it is the plain and simple truth about what happens.) Ask anyone you know who has gone through probate what the experience was like and you’ll surely set up a trust to protect your loved ones from probate.