Whether your kids are in grade school or off to college, California’s back-to-school season is the ideal time to consider whether your estate plan is fulfilling the needs of your whole family or not. This time of year has families scrambling to ensure schedules are set and everybody has what they need to succeed in the next steps of their lives. So, what parts of your estate plan specifically need Read More

We must all take time to plan for the future. The work we put in today should serve us for years to come, and, ultimately, should serve our loved ones when we’re gone. Sitting down with a financial planner and getting your finances in order is an essential part of financial wellness, but do you have a plan for what happens to all this time and effort when you’re gone? Your financial plan and your estate plan Read More

Raising children is a commitment. We know it’s our responsibility to guide them through life’s biggest ups and downs. We have to teach them how to walk, how to talk, how to eat, and so much more. As they grow into their teenage and young adult years, we have to sit down and talk with them about how to act in certain situations. One of the talks you should have with your growing teenagers is about estate planning. Read More

Conservatorships have long been an important legal tool for families and individuals. While they’ve been around for far longer, the term has been popular in the media over the last few years with high-profile cases like Britney Spears catching attention. A conservatorship itself is a legal status assigned to a person who will manage important affairs for a minor or person who needs such management. The most common Read More

We’ve talked about the many types of trusts and how trusts avoid probate, but there’s one key caveat: your trust has to be fully funded in order to be exempt from the probate process. As a quick refresher, probate is a court-mandated process of sifting through the details and assets of an estate and legally distributing those assets. If your estate goes through probate, it can cost beneficiaries time, money, and Read More

Getting your estate plan in order is a huge task, so when you’re finished it can feel relieving and fulfilling. Congratulations on putting the important work in to protect your assets and secure the future of your hard work, but the work doesn’t stop there! Your estate plan will evolve over time and should be on your mind whenever you and your loved ones go through major life changes. Whether you sell off assets, Read More

One of the best ways to keep your business and family in order is to make sure you’re ready for the unexpected. Estate planning is a guide to ensure your hard work is left in the right hands after you’re gone, but it also serves as an important tool for when you’re incapacitated and unable to handle everything on your own. We want to make sure you’re prepared for everything. Incapacity planning can start at any Read More

Last year, we wrote about 3 types of Trusts that could help your loved ones avoid probate. When someone dies without a trust their estate often enters into probate, where a Judge will determine what happens to the belongings and money they left behind. If they create a Will, the Judge will follow the included wishes on what to do. However, court fees, taxes and attorney fees are all payable from the probate estate Read More

What is on your list of New Year’s Resolutions this year? Hitting the gym more? Learning a second language? Spending more time with loved ones? How about punching up your Estate Plan? An Estate Plan is a legally-binding plan created with the help of an attorney that dictates what will happen to your remaining belongings, property, and money after you pass away. Estate Planning can be accomplished through a variety Read More

While you can review your Estate Plan at any time, it feels natural to do so at the end of the year. The New Year already feels like a perfect time for reflection and evaluating the state of everything in your life. Since your Estate Plan is a reflection of your relationships, career, family, and life circumstances, it makes sense to see opportunities for it to change as the rest of your life does. When you take Read More