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, 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

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

Director, Contracts and Intellectual Property

CTB/McGraw-Hill LLC

2007 - 2012

Assistant General Counsel

Toshiba America

1991 - 2006

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!

License to Practice Law

California Bar Association

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2024

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2023

BEST LAW FIRM IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2023

Volunteer of the Year

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

2023

BEST LAWYER IN MONTEREY COUNTY

Monterey Herald Readers' Poll

2021

IMPOWER (Businesswomen inspiring each other and helping our community)

Vice President of the Board of Directors

2021 - Current

Monterey Peninsula Chamber of Commerce

Ambassador

2014 - Current

Monterey County Bar Association

Member

2007 - Current

California State Bar  # 132813

Member

1987 - Current

Central Coast Human Resources Association

Member of the Board of Directors

2019 - 2022

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.

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

Q. Distribution of funds

December 10, 2024

A: Lawyers would need a lot more information before they could answer to your question. For example:

* Did your aunt live in California? [Laws are different in different states.]

* Did your aunt have a Trust?

* Did she have a Will?

* What is the dollar value of your aunt's assets that were not in a trust at her death?

* Has a case been filed in Probate Court?

* Was your aunt married?

* How many children does she have -- living and deceased?

Facts like these make a big difference in the administration of an estate. Please know there are a lot of steps that must take place BEFORE assets can be given to beneficiaries. A lot of people think someone dies and shortly thereafter, the assets are given away. It doesn't work like that. All final bills must be paid, all final tax returns must be paid, and other tasks must be accomplished before anything can be given to beneficiaries in most cases. At the end of the estate administration process, close to the last task to be done, is when the beneficiaries finally get their inheritance -- assuming there are assets left over after all bills and taxes have been paid. So, please be patient.

In general, if someone lived and died in California and has assets that have a total value at or less than $184,500, then the deceased person's loved ones may not need to go through the Probate Court before any assets can be distributed to beneficiaries. But people who own real estate in California almost certainly have an asset worth more than that probate dollar limit so, if she had real estate and did not have the property in a trust, your family will almost certainly need to go through the Probate Court process, but even that will depend on how the real estate is titled (joint tenancy, tenants in common, etc.) Depending on the county in which your aunt lived, probate could take anywhere from one to four years. It could take longer if she has a complicated estate. I hope that helps! ... Read More

Q. I have executed a California Uniform Statutory Power of Attorney which has been duly witnessed and acknowledged .

December 4, 2024

A: Please know that every Power of Attorney contains different language, so lawyers cannot give an opinion about a Power of Attorney without reading the particular document in question. Also, there are different types of POAs. A Durable Power of Attorney is set up to cover situations of incapacity. In other words, the whole purpose of a Durable POA is to allow someone to handle an incapacitated person's affairs because they can't do so for themselves. Other types of POAs (non-Durable POAs) become void when someone loses their capacity. Since I do not use California's template POA form, I don't know if it is a Durable POA nor do I know if its relationship to conservatorships. But, if that form has changed over time, the lawyer would need to know the date of the form you signed and be familiar with that version of the form before answering your question. One important final note: just because a POA is legal does not mean that every bank, landlord, etc. will accept it and allow the agent to do what the agent wants to do. Many template forms contain bare bones information about what the agent is authorized to do. For example, if an agent has authority over "real estate" and "banking", does that mean the agent can refinance a mortgage? Mortgage brokers are not banks or real estate companies so, if that is all the POA said, it could easily get rejected in that situation. The more specific the authority, the more places the POA will be accepted. Best wishes! ... Read More

Q. My brother owes 10% of the house and I owe 90% of the house. My brother wants to do a quit claim deed and give me the

December 3, 2024

A: Unfortunately, almost all exchanges of real estate in California will cause the property tax rate to increase. There are VERY FEW exceptions (one such exception applies when a person transfers real estate to their spouse.) There are no exceptions for property transfers to siblings, cousins, nephews, nieces, or even people who have dated for 30 years but never married or entered into a registered domestic partnership. So, if a person gives a share of real estate to his sibling, the property tax WILL go up based on the percentage of real estate transferred. No exceptions.

You may know that Proposition 13 said the property tax rate for all California real estate can only go up 2% per year, even when parents died and their children inherited their real estate. The state has been trying to get rid of Proposition 13 for a long time because it wants to be able to double our property tax whenever it so desires -- just like it did prior to the 1970's when property owners in California finally got fed up with being forced to sell their homes due to unaffordable property tax. That was the reason voters put Proposition 13 into place.

Unfortunately, California voters recently cut the largest hole in Proposition 13 without knowingly doing so. The result is that few children who inherit real estate from their parents will be able to keep their parents' property tax rate. There is only one very narrow exception and it only applies to a parent's primary residence. Thus, the property tax on most California rental property will automatically increase when the owner dies. If people think rents are high now, they won't want to see rents in another ten or so years! The lesson is that we should all research ballot measures before voting. Just relying on a one-minute TV ad or a quick blurb in a brochure will not give the whole picture of what is being voted on. ... Read More