Most people know they need an Estate Plan, even if they don’t know exactly what one is or how to get it. The concept of a Will is pretty common in pop culture: a document that explains what you are leaving to your loved ones. What is less commonly known is what all an Estate Plan can do - and how to properly make one. Estate Planning is the process of working with an attorney to create a legally binding plan Read More

If you have older relatives or a loved one who recently passed away, you may be wondering if you will receive any inheritance, and, if so, how you go about getting it. In most cases, the process of settling someone’s estate goes through California probate court. Going through any legal process involving the courts can be a challenge, and it is often made even more difficult by the fact that you may still be grieving Read More

If you’ve been thinking about creating an Estate Plan (and everyone should,) you’ve probably heard about Trusts. These financial entities can be set up for a variety of purposes, but practically all of them are designed to protect, manage, and ultimately distribute your wealth. You can use them to hold assets like real estate, investment accounts, and life insurance, and distribute them to beneficiaries after you Read More

Even if you have not heard of Estate Planning, you probably have heard of a Last Will and Testament. Everyone knows a Will as a document where you state you are leaving behind everything to your spouse or children or best friend. Most people are content to just scribble their Will on a napkin if they ever get seriously sick and call it a day. Unfortunately, in California, you have to do a little bit more than Read More

Estate Planning is the process of working with an attorney to create a legally binding plan for what you want to happen to your belongings and property (known as your estate) and your money (your assets) after you pass away. When you think about your estate, you probably think about physical property: your house, your car, your family heirlooms. Digital assets, however, may be just as essential to your Read More

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