When it comes to Estate Planning in California, most people start with a basic Last Will and Testament, commonly known simply as a Will. Estate Planning is the process of declaring who you want to legally inherit your estate (your property, including belongings, homes, and vehicles) and your assets (your remaining money) after you pass away. A Will is the bedrock of Estate Planning because it covers a wide range of Read More

Getting divorced is a lot more complicated than just breaking up. That may be the understatement of the century. Going through a divorce often means negotiating, mediating, moving homes, splitting custody of children, and sometimes even going to court. What can get often overlooked in the whirlwind of all that is one of the most important parts of going through a divorce: updating your Estate Plan. If you have Read More

Throughout most of modern history, preparing for worst-case scenarios has been seen as a negative thing. We often think of people who make preparations as worrywarts who have gone to extreme measures to make themselves sleep better at night. Then, last year there came a time where suddenly no one could buy toilet paper or eggs and the only people who had any were those who had planned in advance. Then we all realized Read More

California Proposition 19, which appeared on the November 3, 2020 ballot, recently passed, and it may greatly affect your estate plan.  It is a constitutional amendment that significantly limits the parent-child property tax exclusion allowing transfers of real property between parents and children without a reassessment of the property’s taxable value to its current fair market value.  Proposition 19 becomes Read More

For many people, one of the biggest goals of estate planning is to minimize any taxes that have to be paid by the state upon your death. For the vast majority of people, estate taxes won’t even apply because under current law, estate taxes do not start until the value of your estate exceeds $11.58 million. For those with large estates, however, there are several things that you can do now to help ensure as little of Read More

There’s a common misconception that estate planning is mainly for the elderly, but the fact of the matter is that if you care about what happens to your property and your loved ones if you pass away, then you should create an estate plan regardless of your age. Youth, unfortunately, does not make us invincible, so it is responsible to have a plan in place for the worst case scenario. In today’s blog post, we’re Read More

As time passes, people and families are constantly evolving. Are your relationships all exactly the same as they were a few years ago? Probably not. Are your goals for the future stagnant and unchanging? We doubt it. While many people mistakenly believe that estate planning can be a one-and-done type of thing, the truth is that your estate plan needs to evolve along with you. It should be updated periodically to Read More

When you create an estate plan, you choose an executor, also known as a personal representative, to name in your will. This person will be held responsible for several duties after you pass away. He or she will be in charge of taking the plan you made in your will and enacting it in the real world. They will make sure your estate’s debts and taxes get paid, will pass your assets on to your beneficiaries on your Read More

It is every person’s right to refuse or accept medical care. It is the responsibility of healthcare providers and medical professionals to recommend a course of treatment, and they should only follow through with permission from the person who is ill or injured. Choosing to refuse or accept healthcare treatment is a fundamental, universal right that should always be honored. In fact, it is included in the American Read More

Trust disputes occur fairly often. Typically the dispute arises between the beneficiaries of a trust and the trustee - that is, the person appointed to manage it. The players in trust disputes are often family members, and their complicated relationships can come into play in trust litigation, making these complex and emotionally-charged matters. Since money, property, and other valuable assets are at stake, these Read More