An attorney owes the duties of competence, communication, confidentiality, loyalty and non-discrimination to a client. These duties require special attention and care by the attorney when representing client with diminished capacity. Recently the California State Bar issued formal Opinion No. 2021-207 (the “Opinion”) to examine four ethics issues when an attorney represents a client with […]
posted on: February 24, 2022
Read MoreBeing married is significant both for a married person’s lifetime estate planning and subsequent administration of the estate at death. Important rights and responsibilities exist between married persons. The capacity (understanding) necessary to be able to marry is low. It is very difficult to invalidate a marriage afterwards. In California, “[t]wo unmarried persons 18 years […]
posted on: February 10, 2022
Read MoreSome assets belong inside of one’s living trust and other assets do not. It is important to know the difference. The primary purposes of a living trust are to avoid probate and to distribute assets according to one’s wishes in the most cost and time effective manner. Assets normally titled inside of one’s living trust […]
posted on: January 29, 2022
Read MoreA person with significant separate property assets and children from a prior marriage(s) may wish to secure their separate property assets when they get remarried to protect themselves and their own children when the marriage ends at death or divorce. California is a community property state. Assets are characterized either as community property , i.e., […]
posted on: January 14, 2022
Read MoreAdministration of a decedent’s estate may involve investment accounts (with stocks and bonds) held in the decedent’s name or trust. The investment accounts may be at a bank or a brokerage. A person administering a probate (i.e., a personal representative) or trust estate (i.e., a successor trustee) will want to (1) obtain information regarding […]
posted on: December 23, 2021
Read MoreA Valid Will Without a valid will a person’s estate passes to their surviving heirs under intestate succession (i.e., “succession without a will”). A valid will can determine who inherits assets in a decedent’s estate, who is the executor of the estate, what powers the executor has over the estate, and more (or less). […]
posted on: December 8, 2021
Read MoreA Trustee has a so-called “fiduciary” duty — i.e., a duty that involves legal responsibility and accountability to the trust beneficiary — to manage the assets of a trust strictly according to the terms of the trust for the sole benefit of the beneficiaries. A Trustee cannot favor the interests of one beneficiary over another […]
posted on: November 25, 2021
Read MoreAnyone receiving community based Medi-Cal or long term (skilled nursing) Medi-Cal is familiar with the stringent, longstanding non-exempt asset (“resource”) limitations for eligibility (i.e., $2,000 in available, countable non-exempt assets for a single individual). Two recent developments affect present day and future Medi-Cal eligibility planning for persons either already receiving or applying for Medi-Cal. First, […]
posted on: November 11, 2021
Read MoreHealth care decisions include whether to approve or to disapprove diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, and medication, and other forms of health care. Patients make their own health care decisions if they both can understand the nature and consequences of a health care decision – including understanding the significant benefits, risks and alternatives — and can […]
posted on: October 28, 2021
Read MoreIn California, what options does a person married to a spouse who suffers from cognitive impairment have to get the couple’s affairs in order, e.g., to establish and fund a trust? Let us discuss. Let us consider a married person with diminished capacity – e.g., unable to have an involved estate planning discussion or unable […]
posted on: October 13, 2021
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