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. Does trust require A/B trust? It says A/B IF exceed the federal estate tax exemption, but assets aren't that high.

December 19, 2024

A: Lawyers cannot give opinions on trusts, contracts or other specific legal documents without reading the document. It's like giving someone a few pages out of a book and asking what the outcome will be. I'm sorry about that! Terms can be defined differently from one trust to another, so we would be guessing if we gave you an answer. For your information, if you see a word in the trust that starts with a capital letter (other than someone's name or quoting a law) then that means the word is defined somewhere in the trust. So, as we are reading a trust, we must search for how THAT trust defines the word before we can interpret the sentence it is in. That is why we cannot know how to answer a question even if you give us a summary of a trust's language. I'm thrilled you are getting help from a lawyer. That person can read the trust you have and interpret it for you. All that having been said, if the trust says exactly what you say the trust says and there are no defined terms or other conditions that must be met, it sounds as if you are correct. But, again, that is just a guess since I haven't read your document. I hope this helps anyway! ... Read More

Q. What is the best/safest kind of deed to use to transfer a primary residence to a revocable living trust?

December 13, 2024

A: Two quick points. First, each person needs his/her/their own trust. Person A should not put their asset into Person B's trust. Person B should put their share of the property into Person B's own trust. Second, if you don't prepare the documents EXACTLY as required by law and county local rules, the County Recorder will reject them. It is the one government agency that literally checks every comma. So, if your document gets rejected, don't be shocked. It wouldn't be the first time that happens! But, you will likely need to re-write it to correct the error in most cases. Just an FYI. Recorders are VERY picky. Best wishes!!

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