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. How to avoid probate and protect assets after a spouse's death in California?

April 23, 2025

A: The fact that your spouse did no estate planning prior to death is unfortunate. I always tell people that they should set up an estate plan FOR THEIR LOVED ONES, not for themselves -- because they'll be gone! So, people have a choice of leaving their loved ones a nice, neat package with everything taken care of, or they can leave their loved ones a giant mess to clean up. Despite knowing this fact, about 60% of our country does zero estate planning because they keep focusing on their own deaths and do not want to think about that. Yet those same people will buy car insurance and not obsess that they could die in a car accident. Setting up an estate plan is just like getting car insurance. It helps the family financially. So, I hope you will set up an estate plan once you obtain your inheritance. Now to your question...

Since your spouse has already died, you will be required to go through probate. Unfortunately, that's the law. Depending on the value of the home and all other assets your spouse had on the date of death, it is possible you may be able to go through a shortened probate process. A lawyer would have to go through the assets and determine if the full probate or the shortened probate applies to your situation.

There are two issues with using a power of attorney as you mentioned in your question: (1) once someone has passed away, there is no one to give you the power over the deceased person's assets because the only person who can do that is deceased; and (2) even if you tried to use a power of attorney or document other than a court order to transfer the property to yourself, the County Recorder would reject that document as improper. So, it wouldn't work. You will need to go through probate and obtain a court order before the Recorder will transfer the property to ANYONE. ... Read More

Q. How to transfer house from trust to joint ownership in CA?

April 12, 2025

A: One question: Why do you want to give the real estate to your relative now? If there isn’t an urgent reason for making the property transfer, it is far better — from a tax perspective — to have someone inherit real estate through a trust document. Legally, you can do what you propose doing. But if there isn’t a reason you must do so right now, both your relative and you will save taxes by having her inherit it at your death. If you are concerned someone may challenge your trust, you could have another lawyer review the reasons for your decision to give the real estate to that particular relative then the lawyer can issue a second opinion, which

Q. Steps and considerations for creating a trust with real estate in CA.

April 12, 2025

A: Find a lawyer with whom you are comfortable working. Many lawyers, like me, offer a free initial consultation, which allows you to meet the attorney(s) and see if they are a good fit for your needs. Other lawyers start charging as soon as you walk through their door. I do not recommend drafting your own estate plan by pulling documents off the internet. There are some legal documents you can get on the internet and, in most instances, you will be fine. Trusts do not fall into that category. When someone tells me they want to draft their own estate plan, I will ask them if they know the definition of the legal term “issue” under California law. If not, they could easily end up with a legal document that fails of its essential purpose. Best wishes! ... Read More