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. I'm just looking to see if ever had a trust or inhearitance from my father I was never notified

February 4, 2025

A: There is no way to know if you were entitled to an inheritance if your relative had a trust because trusts are not filed anywhere unless there is a claim brought, in which case there would be a Petition (think, "lawsuit") filed with the local Probate Court. Wills, however, are supposed to be given to ("lodged with") the Superior Court in the County in which your father lived/died. You should start by going to the local Superior Court and searching the probate records to see if a Will was lodged or a Petition filed under your father's name. If nothing is there, try asking your relative's closest family, friends, accountant, or lawyer. Accountants and lawyers may not be able to reveal any information due to privacy laws, but perhaps they can tell you who the executor or trustee was, so you can contact that person. Best wishes! ... Read More

Q. I’m the primary beneficiary and executor of a living trust, I was left a house with a mortgage that I am not

February 2, 2025

A: More information is needed to properly answer your question. One thing to note is that all debts and taxes must be paid before real estate may be distributed to the beneficiary (assuming the real estate was solely in the deceased person’s name.) So, if someone passed away and left only $10,000 in cash and a home, but owed $25,000 in taxes, the trust might be able to obtain a loan to pay off the taxes or perhaps the home must be sold to pay it off. Since each situation involves different amounts of assets and debts, it would be best to speak with an estate planning lawyer to see if there is a way to keep the real estate in your specific situation. Best wishes!

Q. We are the adult children and beneficiaries of an AB trust in California.

January 31, 2025

A: Everyone who buys real estate in qualifies for Proposition 13. There have been attacks on Prop. 13 ever since it was passed including a false claim that Prop. 13 only applies to people who bought homes in the 1970’s. That is NOT accurate. Everyone who buys real estate in California qualifies.

Prior to Prop. 13, the government raised property taxes whenever it wanted, often doubling the tax from year to year. That forced people to sell their homes, which voters were not happy about. So, they rebelled and, along with the Howard Jarvis Foundation, passed Prop. 13 saying the government can only raise property tax 2% a year. So, once someone buys CA real estate, their property tax is set and, from that point forward, it will only go up 2% a year. Now you know why the government wants to get rid of Prop. 13; it wants to double property taxes whenever it wants. But every attack on Prop. 13 put on the ballot was rejected by voters. So, it is still the law.

Here’s how it works for inherited real estate: If the last parent died BEFORE February 16, 2021, then the “children” (adults) who inherit real estate from their parents automatically pay the same tax rate as their parents did, then it is raised 2% a year from there. It didn’t matter if it was rental property, a vacant lot, or a home. All real estate was treated the same. But no longer…

A few years ago, property tax calculation was changed for inherited CA properties because voters passed the Home Protection Act for Severely Disabled, Elderly, and Victims of Natural Disasters (Prop. 19). I am convinced people have no idea what they voted for. They thought they were helping severely disabled people. Prop. 19 did that, but the “helpful” part of the proposition was only HALF of the law. The other half changed how property tax will be calculated for inherited real estate.

If a parent died on February 16, 2021 or thereafter, then all real estate is AUTOMATICALLY reassessed for property tax purposes, meaning the tax will go up on all inherited real estate except one: ONLY the parent’s primary residence is eligible to be treated the old way, meaning children pay the same property tax rate as their the parent. But this exception only applies if BOTH of the following are true:

(1) The parent was living in the residence at the time of death. The parent can be on vacation or in a hospital when they died, but if they moved into their kid’s home or an Alzheimer’s facility, for example, then the home will automatically be reassessed.

AND

(2) One of the children must move into the parent’s home and make it their primary residence within one year of the parent’s death. If that child ever moves out and another child does not move in, the home will be reassessed in the year the child moved out.

So, the vast majority of inherited real estate will have its property tax go up dramatically when the owner dies. For example, if a parent bought a home in 1980 and the property tax went up 2% a year, then dies in 2025, and the family turns it into a rental, the County Assessor will calculate what the property tax would be if someone bought the house at market value on the date of the parent’s death. Again, this happens automatically and a supplemental tax bill will be sent out after the fact. Since the value of real estate goes up much faster than 2% a year, property tax would be calculated as if the children just bought a $1 million home (or whatever the value is on the parent’s date of death.) I have clients who received a $30,000 tax bill! So, once again, people are being forced to sell their real estate.

The Jarvis Foundation has twice tried to get Prop. 19 removed from the books but, because so few people know what they voted for, Jarvis was unable to get the millions of signatures needed to put it on a ballot! I encourage all who read this to get on the Jarvis Foundation’s mailing list and sign up to get this new law on a ballot so the voters can decide. ... Read More