Focused And Personalized Attention Concerning Your Estate Planning Needs
When we discuss living trusts and other estate planning documents, we often focus on how they can help and how to set them up. But we often overlook details about what happens once the plan is in place. In the case of living trusts, what happens after a document is...
Preparing an estate plan that takes care of your loved ones extends beyond your property and your wealth. It also includes debt management. A recent study by Experian found an average consumer debt of almost $62,000 per individual. That’s a lot of money and, after...
Many people in California view an estate plan as little more than a directive about how to divide and distribute their assets after they die. While this sentiment is correct, it does not account for important matters such as minimizing estate and gift taxes or...
Most people in California don't have to be concerned about estate taxes when they prepare an estate plan. The federal estate tax only applies to estates that are worth more than $5,490,000. Married couples can effectively combine their estate tax exemptions, meaning...
Some readers may remember the probate fight involving former model Anna Nicole Smith and the estate of her deceased husband, Texas billionaire J. Howard Marshall. Smith married Marshall in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 89. When he died the following year, Smith was...
Probate in California can be expensive and time-consuming. But if an estate is of relatively modest size, a full estate administration proceeding may not be required. Under California's Probate Code, simplified proceedings are available for smaller estates.If the...
Creating a family trust that will endure for generations is an ambition of many people who have amassed significant wealth. Under California law, however, there is a limit on how long an interest created by a trust can last. That limit is called the "rule against...
A Sacramento resident must decide for himself what estate planning documents he wants to execute to ensure that his affairs will be managed to his expectations in the event of his incapacitation or death. As such, readers are asked to speak with their estate planning...
For some people in California, estate planning is very simple. The cornerstone of their estate plan is a simple will containing instructions as to how their assets should be distributed upon death. Combined with a durable power of attorney to provide some protection...
Sooner or later many families in California will have to face the reality that aging loved ones are no longer able to manage their own financial affairs. Research has shown that an individual's ability to make financial decisions peaks at about age 53. A person's...