When possible, California law prefers to avoid intestacy – that is, where all or a portion of a decedent’s estate goes to the decedent’s surviving heirs, and not to beneficiaries named under the decedent’s will or trust. What happens then when gifts made in a testamentary instrument, such as a will or a trust, […]
posted on: January 22, 2019
Read MoreIn second marriages, it is common to find gifts to stepchildren, especially when the stepparent raised the stepchild during their minority and/or the stepparent has no other children of their own. It is much less common, however, to find the parents of the stepparent naming the same stepchild as an alternative beneficiary to their […]
posted on: January 9, 2019
Read MoreEstate planning requires an integrated approach to ensure that different parts work together. The Revocable Living Trust, Will, Power of Attorney, and Advance Health Care Directive should be written in consideration of how they will function together in overlapping situations. The Living Trust, the centerpiece of most estate planning, and the Power of […]
posted on: December 31, 2018
Read MoreHow can my dad have died and his estate been transferred to another relative without my being told anything? That was the question, in a nutshell, that a client asked because she was not getting any answers from the relative in question. My initial suspicion was that something was wrong. Notice to a decedent’s heirs […]
posted on: December 12, 2018
Read MoreSome people think that what they need is a “Simple Will”. Actually what they need is the “Right Will”. What is the “Right Will” depends on a variety of factors including the size of the estate, the simplicity or the complexity of the gifting scheme, contingency planning if beneficiaries die, whether a Probate will be […]
posted on: July 26, 2018
Read MoreEstate planning attorneys often ask their clients for their reasons behind why they want to distribute their estate in the way the way they describe. That is especially true when the distribution differs from how the California Probate Code otherwise distributes the estate in the absence of a will or trust. Why does the attorney […]
posted on: July 2, 2018
Read MoreLong Term Care Medi-Cal (“LTC Medi-Cal”) helps pay for residential skilled nursing care for eligible persons. Persons who are age 65 or older, disabled (under the Social Security disability rules) or who receive Supplemental Security Income (“SSI”) are all categorically linked to LTC Medi-Cal. LTC Medi-Cal also requires that the applicant and applicant’s spouse, if […]
posted on: June 21, 2018
Read MoreWhen a person dies other persons may be living in the decedent’s residence and/or other real properties owned by the decedent. This may include the decedent’s spouse, child, significant other, care giver, rent paying tenant or simply a friend. What happens when such persons assert that they are entitled to live at the decedent’s residence […]
posted on: June 8, 2018
Read MoreHow are debts and other claims against a decedent’s estate handled in California? Often a properly completed creditor’s claim form needs to be timely filed in a Probate Court proceeding (Note: An equivalent court proceeding is sometimes opened by the trustee of the decedent’s trust estate provided no probate exists, but this is uncommon.) Other […]
posted on: May 24, 2018
Read MoreOnce the estate planning signing ceremony is done — and the Revocable Living Trust and supporting documents are signed — other tasks still remain. Assets intended for the Living Trust – typically listed on an attached schedule – need to be formally retitled and insurance policies updated. Let us discuss. Let’s start with the real […]
posted on: May 8, 2018
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