Estate planning is best done at times of ease when there is no compelling reason to do so. Now during the Covid 19 pandemic, here in California (and elsewhere), some people want to create, or update, their estate planning documents during the crisis. Normally, estate planning entails in person meetings with your attorney to […]
posted on: April 2, 2020
Read MoreMost parents want to divide their estate equally amongst their children. What is equal treatment at time of death can be disputed amongst the children when some children have received substantially more in lifetime gifts than the others. Accordingly, Parents often decide to count substantial lifetime distributions made to their children as advanced […]
posted on: March 12, 2020
Read MoreMoney on deposit in bank or brokerage accounts that are titled as “Joint Tenancy With Right of Survivorship” (“Joint Tenancy Account”) passes automatically at the death of a deceased joint tenant to the surviving joint tenant(s), if any, by operation of law; or does it? Many times the money is deposited by one account […]
posted on: February 28, 2020
Read MoreA Trust is the original trust document together with all amendments. Amendments, amongst other things, add and subtract beneficiaries and change inheritances to existing beneficiaries. In California, when a revocable living trust becomes irrevocable — such as upon the death or incapacity of the settlor — the successor trustee is required to give […]
posted on: February 5, 2020
Read MoreThe Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act of 2019”) is, from a taxpayer’s perspective, both “good news” and “bad news”. The “good news” includes helping small employers establish 401(k) retirement plans and allowing more employees to save for retirement. The ‘bad news” is that the new tax law […]
posted on: January 17, 2020
Read MoreWhen a revocable living trust is established certain important powers – i.e., to amend or to revoke the trust — are usually reserved to the settlor (i.e., the person who established the trust). Unless the trust expressly allows someone other than the settlor to exercise these powers then only the settlor – while alive […]
posted on: December 20, 2019
Read MoreWhat happens when a beneficiary of a deceased person’s probate estate or living trust dies during an ongoing administration and before receiving the full distribution of their inheritance? The death of a beneficiary scenario can arise in settling either a probate estate or a trust administration. The beneficiary’s death affects both the administration of […]
posted on: December 5, 2019
Read MoreMany elderly people are being cared for at home rather than at a board and care, assisted living or skilled nursing facility. Often the personal care giver is someone who is employed directly by the elderly person or by the elderly person’s family. These employment arrangements cover a wide spectrum of personal care services […]
posted on: November 22, 2019
Read MoreCreditors of a decedent who wish to pursue a claim against the decedent’s estate for an unsecured debt must follow certain important procedures in a timely manner. If these procedures either are not done properly or are not done timely then a creditor may lose their opportunity to pursue their claim. Secured creditors can […]
posted on: November 1, 2019
Read MoreA tenant in common owns an undivided, fractional interest in a property (real or personal) with one or more additional tenants in common, who may be related or unrelated persons. Let’s consider issues related to some scenarios. Consider two friends who buy real property as equal tenants in common to turn into a […]
posted on: October 17, 2019
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