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

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

• 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.

California

Since 1987

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!

Univ of California at Los Angeles

Undergraduate Degree

Loyola Law School

Law Degree

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

License to Practice Law

California Bar Association

Q. My father passed in April 2024, he had no assets at time of death, am i responsible for his debt?

January 24, 2025

A: When someone passes away, all debts must be paid and final tax returns filed BEFORE anyone can inherit the deceased person’s assets. There are a few exceptions to this rule, such as assets titled in joint tenancy, but I wouldn’t know if any of the exceptions apply because there isn’t enough information in the question. However, I’m a little confused because you said the deceased person had no assets, but you also said he had a mobile home, which is an asset. In all likelihood you will have to give that back to your father’s estate, but a lawyer would not know one way or the other without asking a number of questions. It would be a good idea to talk to a lawyer to help you out, so the creditors don’t come after you. Best wishes. ... Read More

Q. My mother and my aunt are 50/50 home joint tenants of a house property in Los Angeles. My aunt has a living trust for

January 23, 2025

A: The answer to your question will depend on the language in the two trusts you mentioned. I have several points that may help.

First, people cannot control something they don't own. I cannot control who gets to use your car because I don't own it. In your situation: (1) your mother cannot control what happens to the entire property because she doesn't own the entire property. She only owns half, so she can only legally control her half. (2) You don't own either half of the property, so there is nothing you can do to change the situation. If you pressure someone to give you the home, it's possible you could be liable for elder abuse. The decision must be made by the person who owns the property. I understand you are interested in your future, but please remember that children are not automatically entitled to inherit their parents' assets. If your mother changed her mind and decided to give her half of the property to a charity, she could -- because she owns it. [For your sake, I hope she doesn't.]

Second, there is a way to draft a trust to give someone a right to reside in a home during their lifetime even if that person does not own the home. That is common in blended family situations where a homeowner wants to leave the family home to his children but allow the second spouse to live there during their lifetime. After the second spouse dies, the children of the first spouse would inherit the property. But, in your case, this would only apply to your half of the home. So, if your mother passed away before your aunt, you inherited your mother's half of the property, and your aunt wanted to live there too, she could.

Third, it's difficult to sell half a house, but it's possible an investor or relative might be interested in doing so. Would you want to own half of a house and not be able to control the other half? Often one owner will buy out the other, so the buyer ends up owning the whole house. There are other solutions as well.

Best wishes! ... Read More

Q. my brother and i are the succesor trustees and sole beneficiaries of my parent's revocable living trust

January 13, 2025

A: The lawyer is right if neither your brother or you will move into the home and make it your primary residence. This resulted from a ballot initiative a few years ago that was called, in essence, the Home Protection for Severely Disabled, Elderly and Victims of Natural Disasters, otherwise known as Proposition 19. People thought they were ONLY voting to protect homes for people in need, but they also voted to cut a massive hole in Proposition 13. Quick history: before the 1970’s, CA’s government doubled property taxes every time they wanted more money. People were forced to sell their homes because they couldn’t afford their taxes. So, homeowners rebelled and passed Prop 13, which said the government can only raise property taxes 2% a year. Up until a few years ago, children could inherit ANY real estate from their parents and step right into their shoes for property tax purposes, literally paying the same property tax as their parents then having it increase 2% a year. But Proposition 19 (the Home Protection Act) changed that. Now all inherited property is AUTOMATICALLY REASSESSED to current value as of the date of the last parent’s death — with only one very narrow exception. The Jarvis Foundation, which was behind Prop. 13, has twice tried to overturn the harm done by the Home Protection Act but, because so few people know what they voted for, they don’t realize they too will be going through what you’re facing now. If more people understood what they voted for, we could get a proposition put on the ballot for us to overturn Prop. 19. But the Jarvis Foundation literally needs MILLIONS of signatures to do that. Jarvis tried twice (the last two elections), but failed to get enough signatures. People don’t know this is a problem. That’s one of the many reasons I hate politics: voters have to sort through the noise to determine what they’re actually voting on. And the impact can last for decades…. Sorry about that. ... Read More