What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 5pm

Terri Hilliard, PC

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Caring For You. Caring for Yours.

- Estate Planning
- Special Needs Law
- Business Succession
- Elde

At Terri Hilliard, PC, our longstanding practice is dedicated to provide an exceptional level of care and planning for every stage of life. Every client is given the insight and clarity needed to accomplish their goals in securing the best future for their business and family.

10/30/2026

Happy almost-Halloween 🎃 Want to know one of the scariest things I see in estate planning? It's not a haunted house. It's a beautiful trust… with nothing in it.

A trust only controls what's actually titled in its name. So if:

→ your home came out of the trust during a refinance and never went back in,
→ the brokerage account you opened a few years ago was never retitled, or
→ your beneficiary designations point somewhere else…

those assets may still end up in court, even though you did the work of creating a trust.

Families often discover this only after a loss, when it's much harder (and more expensive) to fix.

The good news? While you're here, it's usually a simple fix.

No tricks. Just a treat for your family: peace of mind. 🍂

📩 Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a trust review.

10/28/2026

Your CPA, your financial planner, and your estate planning attorney have probably never been in the same room. That might be the most expensive gap in your plan.

The last quarter of the year is when a lot of planning happens: year-end tax moves, portfolio reviews, beneficiary updates, charitable giving.

Each advisor sees their piece. But the pieces don't always fit together.

Some of the gaps I see most often:

→ Beneficiary designations that don't match what the trust says
→ New accounts opened after the trust was signed, never titled into it
→ Gifts to a loved one with a disability that unintentionally affect their benefits

It's also worth knowing that, under the 2025 federal tax law, the estate tax exemption is now $15 million per person. For most families, the federal estate tax isn't the main concern anymore.

The real planning work is avoiding probate, preparing for incapacity, thinking through capital gains, and protecting the people who will inherit.

That's exactly where coordination matters most.

I genuinely enjoy working alongside my clients' CPAs and financial advisors, because when everyone is on the same page, families get a plan that actually works.

📩 If you'd like your team to finally talk to each other, I'm happy to be part of that conversation. Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/26/2026

"California raised the probate limit, so I don't need a trust anymore… right?"

I'm hearing this question a lot lately.

Here's what changed: since April 2025, California's AB 2016 lets families transfer a primary residence worth up to $750,000 through a simplified court petition instead of full probate.

That's genuinely good news for some families. But here's what the new rule doesn't do:

→ It still requires a court petition
→ It only applies to your primary residence, and only if it's valued at $750,000 or less (in much of the Conejo Valley, homes are valued well above that)
→ It does nothing if you become incapacitated and someone needs to manage your affairs
→ It doesn't address minor children, a loved one with special needs, or a blended family

A living trust isn't just about avoiding probate. It's about who steps in, how, and when, without a judge making those decisions for your family.

I broke all of this down in this month's blog, including a simple self-check to see where you stand.

📖 Read the full post on our website, or 📩 send me a message to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/23/2026

Naming your children as the beneficiary on your life insurance feels like the most loving thing you can do. In California, it can create a problem you never intended.

Minor children can't directly receive a large inheritance.

If a child under 18 is named outright on a life insurance policy or retirement account, a court often has to step in: appointing someone to manage the money, supervising how it's spent, and requiring regular reports.

And when your child turns 18? Whatever is left is typically theirs. All of it. At once.

Most parents I talk to don't love the idea of their 18-year-old receiving a six-figure check.

The good news is this is very fixable. With the right planning, you can:

→ Choose who manages the money for your children
→ Decide when and how they receive it (for example, in stages as they mature)
→ Keep the court out of it

Take two minutes this week and check who's listed on your life insurance, your 401(k) or IRA, and any accounts with a "payable on death" designation.

If you see your kids' names there, let's talk.

📩 Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/21/2026

If your loved one's disability began after age 26, you may have been told an ABLE account wasn't an option. That changed this year.

As of January 1, 2026, the ABLE Age Adjustment Act raised the age-of-onset limit from before 26 to before 46.

That's an estimated 6 million more Americans who may now qualify, including many veterans and adults whose disabilities came from an injury, a chronic illness, or a diagnosis that came later in life.

In California, that means CalABLE.

An ABLE account lets a person with a disability save for qualified expenses (housing, transportation, therapy, education, everyday needs) without the first $100,000 counting against SSI. And ABLE funds aren't counted for Medi-Cal eligibility.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. For adults who work and want to save without putting their benefits at risk, this can be a meaningful tool.

One important note: an ABLE account works best as part of a plan, not the whole plan. Larger amounts, like an inheritance or a settlement, usually belong in a properly structured Special Needs Trust.

If someone in your family was ruled out before, it may be worth a second look.

📩 Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/19/2026

This week is National Estate Planning Awareness Week. And here's the honest truth: most people aren't avoiding estate planning because they don't care. They're avoiding it because they don't know where to start.

According to Caring.com's 2025 study, only about 24% of Americans have a will.

So if you haven't done this yet, you're not alone. And you're not behind in a way you can't fix.

For most California families, a solid foundation includes:

→ Revocable Living Trust: holds your assets and helps your family avoid probate
→ Pour-Over Will: catches anything left outside the trust, and names guardians for minor children
→ Durable Power of Attorney: someone you trust to handle finances if you can't
→ Advance Health Care Directive: your medical wishes and your decision-maker
→ HIPAA Authorization: so your loved ones can talk to your doctors

And if someone in your family has a disability, a Special Needs Trust belongs on that list, too.

You don't need to have it all figured out before we talk. You just need to start the conversation.

📩 Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/16/2026

Medicare Open Enrollment is here (October 15 – December 7). While you're comparing plans, there's one more health document worth checking.

Your Medicare plan decides what's covered.

It doesn't decide who speaks for you if you can't speak for yourself.

That's the job of your Advance Health Care Directive. It names the person you trust to make medical decisions for you, and it lets you share your wishes in your own words.

Pair it with a HIPAA authorization, so the people you love can actually get information from your doctors.

Without these documents, families can be left guessing in a hospital hallway, and in some cases may even need to go to court.

A few quick questions:

→ Does the person you named know they're your agent?
→ Do your doctors have a copy on file?
→ Have you had the conversation about what matters most to you?

If you're helping a parent review their Medicare plan this month, this is a gentle, natural time to ask about their directive, too.

📩 Send me a message or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation.

10/15/2026

When was the last time you actually read your Power of Attorney?

Not signed it. Read it.

For a lot of families, the honest answer is "the day we signed our estate plan"… which may have been ten or fifteen years ago.

Here's why this is a good month to pull it out of the binder:

Starting January 1, 2027, California's Statutory Power of Attorney form is being updated. The new version adds clearer options for things older forms often left out, like authority over digital assets and a dedicated place to name a backup (successor) agent.

This doesn't mean your current document stops working. But it's a great reminder to ask yourself a few simple questions:

→ Is the person I named still the right person?
→ Did I name a backup in case they can't serve?
→ Could my agent get into my online accounts if they had to?
→ Does my Advance Health Care Directive still reflect what I want?

Your Power of Attorney and Advance Directive are the documents that protect you while you're still here. They deserve a check-up, just like everything else in your life.

📩 Send me a message here or visit our website to schedule a complimentary consultation. Let's make sure your documents still fit your life.

04/08/2026

Happy 13th Birthday, Foster 🤍

It’s hard to put into words what you mean to me.

Thirteen years of loyalty, quiet companionship, and the kind of love that shows up every single day... steady, patient, and full of heart.

Whether you’re offering your favorite bone (as if I might take it) or playing side by side with your fursibling, you remind me of something simple but important… that love doesn’t need to be complicated to be meaningful.

You’ve been there through so many seasons, always by my side.

Today, we celebrate you and all the joy, comfort, and unconditional love you’ve brought into life.

Happy Birthday, sweet boy. 🐾

Address

600 Hampshire Road, Suite 211
Westlake Village, CA
91361

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18052012552

Website

http://www.terrihilliard.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Terri Hilliard, PC posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.