Focused And Personalized Attention Concerning Your Estate Planning Needs
The term "estate planning" refers generally to the process of making preparations for the management of one's assets in the event of incapacity, and the distribution of assets to heirs and beneficiaries upon death. There are several important goals that should be...
In California, many people opt to use a revocable trust instead of a will as their primary estate planning vehicle. One of the main advantages of a revocable trust is that it can enable the trustor's estate to avoid probate.When a trustor creates a trust, they must...
When novelist Gore Vidal died in 2012, he left an estate worth an estimated $30 million - not including future royalties from his published works. But within months of his death, distant relatives began fighting over the property he left behind, including a $4 million...
Most of us do not know how to relate to the financial power of the super-wealthy. Whether they earned their money from the entertainment industry, in the tech sector, or through another path to substantial earnings, some California residents possess assets and wealth...
As we discussed in last week's post, under California law there are some assets in an estate that will pass to beneficiaries independently of the instructions in a will or trust. These non-probate assets include funds or securities in bank accounts, investment...
When the subject of estate planning comes up in conversation in California, someone often mentions the goal of avoiding probate. But what exactly is probate, and why is it something to be avoided?Probate is basically the court-supervised process of gathering a...
In a recent post, the importance of having a California living will was discussed as part of one's estate plan. The importance of doing so was brought to light recently by the tragic situation involving former NBA star Lamar Odom.As has been widely reported in the...
In an earlier post in this blog we talked about the importance of updating a California estate plan in the event of a remarriage. If one fails to do this, one of the results may be the application of California's omitted spouse statute.An "omitted spouse" in...
When most Californians think about estate planning, they probably think about wills, trusts and the disposition of one's property after death. But careful estate planning also includes planning for the possibility of becoming incapacitated during one's lifetime. One...
As this blog previously addressed, for most families, a basic California estate plan does not have to be complicated. In most cases, a basic will or trust is sufficient to provide for the distribution of property after death.In addition, some assets can be transferred...