Estate Planning

A trust is a legal document that can help avoid estate taxes, probate and disputes and ensure assets are distributed to beneficiaries. The grantor can place assets in a revocable trust, which allows the grantor to alter the contents of a trust at any time. When the...

It’s important to review your estate plan periodically. You may not always need to make updates, but they are sometimes necessary to ensure that the estate plan really fits with where your life is at that moment and that it addresses your wishes. To do this, some...

When many people make an estate plan, they are just thinking about what will happen to their assets after they pass away. They want to make sure that both financial and tangible assets get distributed to family members, although they also plan to keep those assets...

At the beginning of this year, California enacted a “next-of-kin” law similar to those on the books in the vast majority of states. The law allows medical facilities to designate someone to speak and make decisions for a patient who is incapacitated and unable to...

Parents often find it difficult to talk to their children about their estate plans. It can be difficult to talk at length about personal resources and finances with adult children who have begun running their own households. Many adult children anticipate receiving a...

Imagine a scenario where you find yourself incapacitated and unable to communicate your wishes regarding medical treatment. In such moments of vulnerability, is there anything you can do now to ensure your values and medical preferences are respected? The short answer...

When making your estate plan, you may be concerned about the age of one of your heirs. Maybe you want to leave them an inheritance, but they are young and impulsive, so you’re afraid that they will just waste any money that you leave to them. Or perhaps they are not...

One tool stands out as an invaluable asset in finance and estate planning: the irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). This powerful financial instrument serves various purposes, from helping protect your family's financial future to minimizing tax liabilities....

A living trust is an estate planning tool that allows you to manage and distribute your assets while living and after you pass away. Creating a living trust is wise, but you must fund it to have it operate as desired. In other words, an empty living trust is no good...

Your will is not effective until you die. This means you can update it when circumstances change in your life. But since it's a legal document, you have to make changes following the right procedures. You can legally update your will using two methods: Writing a new...