0:01 Who are you and where are you going? What do you want? [Music] Hello and welcome to Trust and Estates Weekly. I'm your host, Kevin Bemel, and I'm here every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about estate planning and trust and probate administration. Uh, primarily from the standpoint of professionals like myself, I as as for those of you who watched the
0:37 show before, you know that I uh am a professional fiduciary. I I do the actual administration, but also for those of you who are dealing with your own personal situation and you want to understand more about it, you want to be able to communicate more clearly with your advisors so that in the end all your your estate plan and and how it's handled is can all be done better. So today I'm going to be talking about I'm going to be going inside, if you will, inside, right? Uh Probate and Trust TV.
1:15 Full disclosure, this is something that I started a few months ago. Uh, it's a YouTube channel and it's designed to aggregate all of the best content on estate planning and trust and probate administration that can be found on YouTube. So, some of the contributors I know myself, they've been guests on my show. Others are people I I have never met. uh but uh they they do such great content that it's it's worth your knowing about it. So, while of course I
1:52 want you to continue watching Trust and Estates Weekly, uh it it would be foolish of me to suggest that I'm the only voice out there. There are many uh many voices out there. Uh honestly, they're primarily lawyers. I haven't found um too many other allied professionals, accountants, whatever, who are doing content specifically on probate. The one exception is my friend Bill Gross, who's one of the top probate real estate uh agents in in the country.
2:28 Um but um nonetheless, there's it's good to get multiple perspectives. number one because it's it's hard for any one individual to to know everything there is to know or to convey everything there is to convey. There's always minimally nuances. Number one. And number two, not everybody agrees about how probate and and estate planning and such should best be handled. And when all is said and done, the way that an an estate plan
3:04 should come together or the way that a a trust or or a probate should be administrated should be specific to the situation of the individuals that that are affected by it. And so while it's it's common to give generalized advice, which is of course um what I do on this show, or or not even advice really, general guidance, uh general education, um it's it's not that when it comes down to your specific uh situation, you
3:40 really need to work with advisors that you trust, that you like. So, and just as if you watch the title crawl below me, you'll you'll notice that I say that this is, you know, general education basically and you you know your specific situation in conjunction with your advisors. Okay. So the idea of all of the content providers is to enable people to on on the client side
4:15 be able to understand what do they need to do who's who are the right people uh for them with whom to work and on the professional side what are the gaps in our knowledge what are we missing and and how do we make up that how do close those gaps so that we can do the best possible job for our clients. So, if you see over my shoulder here, I always do it backwards, right? So, you know, these are the way to wow shows. That's what you're watching right now. But then below it is uh PTTV, Probate and Trust
4:50 TV. And uh and and so I'm going to take you to that that channel now. And let's see. Here we go. I'm going to share my screen and hopefully it'll be easy to find. Yep, here it is. Okay. Alrighty. And yeah, let's let's enlarge this. Okay. So, uh this this is the the YouTube channel um Probate and Trust TV. And um I have, you know, just a few subscribers now. As I said, I'm just just got the channel started um a little
5:26 while ago. And there are um several playlists on the channel and and it's broken down into subjects. So there's estate planning, which is general estate planning. There's probate and trust administration, and you can see that I'm a a fairly frequent contributor uh to that subject. And then there's living trusts and eyelets which are life insurance trusts and other types of trusts. So you see all that there. Uh there are other types of legal
6:02 accounting and tax matters. Okay. And then there's one for real estate and probates and trusts. And why do I single out real estate as an asset? Well, because often times uh real estate uh comprises the largest portion of a particular estate, be it a be it a um a trust or a probate. Uh for the vast majority of people, real estate is going to be their largest asset. Okay. And then finally, there are complex planning
6:40 and administration matters. And these could be in any number of categories. So you see here the complexities of probate litigation. Um probate and fiduciary litigation. Um here's an estate with a closely held business. So again, that's a more complex situation than the typical uh than than the typical um uh estate or trust would have because you know most people are you know don't have um that that that kind of asset in their estate.
7:18 Okay. Another complex issue is planning for special needs. So if you have a child who uh you know um h you know is unable to take care of him or herself or has some sort of um illness that you know it's not going to go away. It's going to be something that um you know is is going to be costly uh for the rest of the child's life. So these are the these require uh special special planning and
7:53 special needs, right? Hence hence the name special needs, right? And oftentimes they're accommodated through something called a special needs trust. Okay? Uh and um you you you can see by the way these are some of the most viewed episodes uh because again you know people are looking to stay up todate and so professionals who come here you know they know more of uh the routine um you know the routine issues um but but you know some of these complex issues less so. So, uh, who were the
8:29 contributors, um, to Probate and Trust TV? Well, there's, of course, me, uh, through the Way to Wow shows. I mentioned my friend, uh, Bill Gross, who's a the one of the top probate real estate agents in the country. There's Paul Rablett. He is a an estate planning attorney based in uh um in Louisiana. Um, Paul has been a guest on my show. um Allan Gasman, um the Burton Law Firm, um Elville and Associates, uh and uh ELG Planning, Cunningham Law,
9:05 and then Kristen House. So these are um the regular uh contributors to uh to Probate and Trust TV and you know they they are the ones who take the time to stay a breast of all of these issues and um and put together videos programs so that we all can benefit from from it. So, and you know, each each of us has our style. You you
9:40 can see my uh my thumbnails look different than pretty much everybody else's. Um the the the the Talai Law Firm, he's one of the newer ones. That's why he's not down on the list below. Uh you know, he he has a bit of a whimsical um aspect uh you know, to uh you know, to his thumbnails and and and to his presentation. uh and um uh you know other others have uh you know have their um their own takes. So um you know it it's um it's it's a good thing uh to um you know to
10:19 look through and and also find people that that you find engaging. Right here's an interesting one. This is u this is Kristen how um on her show Absolute Trust Talk. So she talks about uh Jimmy Buffett's $275 million trust battle and the the co-rustees are are fighting about this, right? So it's it's it's, you know, it's all um you know, very interested and designed to, you know, to help you out. So um let me go ahead and and uh stop this. Stop
10:54 sharing. Okay, there you go. So uh you know, why why am I doing this? Well, I'm because this is going to be a short show, I'm going to take a quick break and then we'll come back and u I'll I'll explain that to you. When life brings unexpected changes, managing inherited property shouldn't add to your stress. Magnum Properties specializes in probate and trust real estate management. We handle the complexities while you focus on what matters most. From property maintenance
11:30 to tenant relations, from legal compliance to maximizing value, we're your trusted partner through every step. Magnum Properties, Inc., turning property challenges into peace of mind. Call us today at 213-264-4396 or visit magnumprops.com. Okay, so this is Trust and Estates Weekly and I'm your host Kevin Bemel and I'm talking about uh Probate uh and Trust TV uh a new YouTube channel that I
12:07 started a couple of months ago, maybe a little bit longer, a little bit maybe not quite that long ago. Anyway, uh and so I I showed you the channel before the break and I you know a good question will would be you know why am I doing this? In fact, my friend Bill Gross asked me, he said, "Why are you doing this? Why are you taking your time, right, to to do this?" And the simple answer is because we're all so busy that to hunt through YouTube or any for that matter any other
12:42 source for good information and in particular up-to-date information can be is is very time consuming. So there is I I have not found anywhere on the internet that you can go where you can get upto-date information on um on the on on estate planning and and trust and probate administration. Now there are great places you can go for coursework. So, for example, Kaplan has got quite a bit of of um good quite a number of good
13:18 courses that relate to estate planning and trust and estate administration, whether it's understanding how life insurance plays into it, whether it's uh you know, the the course they do on estate planning. I I've taken a number of their courses and they're very good. However, and this is no this is no uh criticism of of Kaplan, they don't have the ability to stay up todate in real time, right? They they their courses are meant to fulfill things like license qualification or uh
13:55 continuing education, right? and they they they take a a lot of time to make sure their courses are thorough, that they're well well researched, well planned out, okay? they don't have the the sort of um uh flexibility isn't quite the right word, but but they they don't have the nimleness that if you know for for example just uh a a couple weeks after the most recent uh tax legislation was passed, you know, um my friend Bill Gross had a guest on to talk about well
14:31 what is the impact of this with respect to estate planning and administration, Right. So that is not what Kaplan does. They're there to provide foundational education for people engaged in this area. Uh that that's number one. And number two, you know, for for the average person who's just concerned about uh his own estate plan. So, you know, to take Kaplan courses, um some of the stuff is is very technical, which for a professional like me is terrific. Um, but for someone who's a a lay
15:08 person, unless you have a background in these kinds of matters, it's it's going to be very difficult for you to understand. So, you know, great content, but not but not, you know, up to-date and and certainly uh not geared toward the average person who needs to do their estate plan. So, the American Bankers Association has a certification program again for among other things people who administrate uh trusts and estates. Uh I haven't taken any of the classes. I know
15:43 people who have. They tell me they're excellent. Okay. Um they are expensive. Uh I was looking at getting the certification. I think it was going to cost if memory serves somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 or $8,000. Okay. Now, for someone like me who practices in the field, that may be a good investment. Uh, but for for someone who doesn't, that that's a lot of money. And again, the the material is is highly technical as one would expect from a course, you know, put together by the ABA. Number
16:18 one, and like Kaplan, they're not making frequent updates to their coursework based on changes that happened, you know, a couple of weeks or a month or two ago. It's not part of their program. They're looking to provide foundational knowledge. And so again, from all I hear, excellent program uh but but not not what not what's necessary to keep up to date with with changes. So uh another source and
16:54 this is uh so I belong to an organization called the IND independent trustees alliance ITA. Now they do uh programming. In fact, I that was where I did my continuing education for my most recent license renewal because I have to do that every year. Uh and and in in that case, the the material is a little more up to-date, but most of the material comes from their annual conference. So if anything has changed in the last year um almost for sure or I'm sorry if anything
17:30 has changed since the last conference it's not going to show up in the material. Okay, the the the ITA is not doing those kind of frequent updates and in some cases the material is more than a year old and so again it's not it's not keeping up now. It's in it it's more timely I would say than than perhap than uh Kaplan or the ABA but it's it's not looking to be foundational the way Kaplan and ABA are. it it is looking to be more timely, but it's just not as nimble. Nimble is the word I was looking
18:05 for before. It's just not as nimble as the content providers that you'll see on uh PTTV. And so, you know, h having gone through all of this and and by the way, um I I don't I don't mention this very often, but I h I have a real estate license here in California as well, and I need to do my continuing education to update that license uh come next year. And I've looked high and low for continuing education on handling pro on handling
18:42 real estate and probate that would qualify here in California and cannot find anything literally nothing. I talked to my friend Bill. He said, "Yeah, there's nothing out there." Right? So, uh, you know, in in in some cases there is nothing on the subject, uh, as as in the case of, uh, you know, what the specialization of, um, you know, handling real estate and probate. And so for all of these reasons, I decided to put together uh Probate and
19:19 Trust TV to bring to you whether you're a professional or someone who's going through his own uh estate planning process, the most timely content that you can find. So you can stay up todate. Uh, you know, there's probably not even even on on Probate and Trust TV, by the way, um, there's probably not much content beyond my friend Bill's uh, video talking about the changes brought about by the recent
19:54 tax legislation that will that will explain that the estate tax uh, exemption now is $15 million uh, for a single person. uh two times that, $30 million for a married couple, right? That change is so recent, roughly a month old, right? It hasn't even it hasn't filtered through most. And the fact of the matter is it's it's a little bit higher than uh than than what it was going to be this year anyway because the um based on the uh uh tax and jobs act
20:31 of I believe it was 2017 or 2018 the the uh estate tax exemption uh was was going up each year. It was around 14 plus million under the old law and so it was rounded up to $15 million now. And I believe it's now indexed for inflation or something like that. So, you know, it it it does take a little time e even for, you know, very uh recent things like that to show up. Nonetheless, um when you when you see the content put
21:08 together by providers on PTTV, what you'll know is that these are people who are keeping up to date, even if they haven't done, you know, a video on it uh recently because we're all, you know, looking for good subjects to talk about and and we're looking to keep uh our our viewers up to date. So, you know, th those are the people that are more I mean, I I don't want to say that other professionals don't stay up to date, but you do know that these ones do because
21:44 they put in the effort to show you that that's a part of their their professional ethic. And so, uh, Probate and Trust TV is is there in order to, uh, you know, showcase, uh, those of us who feel that it's important on a professional level to see to it that, uh, everybody is kept as well informed as they can be. um and and for my from my perspective, I'm I'm sure you've all
22:20 heard the phrase, you know, what goes around comes around. So, by helping out my fellow professionals, so then maybe there, you know, there's there's some business opportunity that will come from it uh down down the road. Um you you should know, and maybe I should have mentioned this at the beginning, no one pays to be a part of Probate and Trust TV. There is no amount of money that someone can pay to be on the channel. uh what they the the price of being on the channel is is uh doing good content. That's what it takes to be on the channel. So uh you know be beyond that
22:57 um this is no paytoplay scheme or anything like that. It's it's it's you know purely to bring the best content providers uh to greater attention. So, if you get any of the uh social media posts for for this show, for example, you'll periodically see posts about PTTV that give you the link to subscribe. Um and um I'm going to be uh hopefully expanding it. I'd like to do a series of interviews for the the content providers
23:33 so you can meet them kind of one- on-one on the channel and uh so that's something to look forward to in the future. Uh and and you know like so much of what's going on now in content provision um all of this will develop over time in a way that best serves the audience. That that is one of the beauties of what all of us do is we don't do this in the VA in a vacuum. We're all looking to grow our audiences, grow our viewing time, but in a
24:10 professional way. So, you know, you're not going to see um you know, vulgarity. You're not going to see uh um uh you know, gimmicks and such trying to get people uh you know, trying to get eyes on the screen. You're not you're not going to see that. That that kind of content I won't have on the channel. Uh what I what I will have on the channel is content that will really help you as a professional and help you um if you are going through your own estate planning process. And I'll hasten to add that of course it's not something you do
24:46 once and put on a shelf and forget about uh it's it's it's an ongoing process, something that needs to be looked at and periodically reviewed. So, for those of you who are reg regular watchers of this show, you know, the various guests I've had on uh all emphasize uh that that message. And so, uh you know, this this isn't this is an ongoing venture and one that I hope will will really serve you. It it hearkens a little bit back, I guess, to my time as a chaplain in the military, right? That what is what is the point of a chap in the military?
25:22 It's it's to serve fellow service members and their families, right? And so I think we all should consider how we can bring that element to our professional lives. Um so that we're we're not so mercenary that it's only ever about uh you know generating money or or you know making a living. Of course those are important but how we do it the context in which we do it is equally important. And so I I I encourage you to check out uh Pro Probate and Trust TV, PTTV. Uh I I you
26:00 know would be honored to have you as a subscriber. Of course, this is I'll make a shameless pitch for myself. Normally I make it for my guests, but I'll make it for my for my channel now. Um but if you have any thoughts, comments, ideas, uh please share them. I you know, I'd love to hear it. This is about providing you with a tool that will help you be a better professional or or or andor have a more sound financial life. So again, uh, Probate and Trust TV. Uh, I'll normally I I play the spot for PTTV on
26:36 the show, so I'm I'm going to wrap up by playing the spot and then come and say goodbye. Probate and Trust TV, your curated source for the most useful and insightful content on estate planning and trust and probate administration, featuring standout professionals like Bill Gross, Paul Bralet, James Cunningham, and yours truly. Whether you're a lawyer, accountant, real estate professional, or working on your own succession plan, this channel helps you quickly find the clearest, most
27:11 practical content YouTube has to offer. Subscribe now to Probate and Trust TV. Spend more time learning, less time searching. So, I thank you very much for joining me today. And let's see, tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. is my show, Business Lessons from the Military. On Wednesday at 10:00 a.m., people making money. All the times, of course, are Pacific time. And then on Thursday is my every other week show, Jiggers's Place, at 5:00 p.m.
27:46 We'll sit back and have a cocktail and talk about all the non-financial aspects of life, and I'll give you a hint about what this week's episode is about. There you go. So, thanks again for joining me. Always a pleasure, especially to see my live viewers, to see the live viewers. Thank you so much for taking the time and wishing you a wonderful rest of the day. Signing off as I always do. Marie darling, you are your you are my bell. Were your ears burning? I was just telling a friend about you just a few minutes before the show started. Courage at all friends. Courage at all time, my friends.