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Here’s a scenario I see all too often in our practice: A couple comes into my office to have their living trust reviewed. They tell me they responded to a mailer offering a steep discount to draft an estate planning package, but after signing their documents, they felt uneasy. As I go through each document, [...]
It’s that time of year…tax season. When most of us think of tax season, we think of our individual and business tax returns since these are the most common tax forms. Most of us do not think of the tax obligations relating to trusts—but many of us should. Many of my clients are surviving widows [...]
Update On VA Law If you are a veteran or the spouse of a veteran, then you may be eligible for VA pension benefits, and VA pension planning may be an option for you. VA pension benefits consist of monthly cash benefits paid to eligible wartime veterans or their [...]
A recent report from the Alzheimer’s Association states that one in nine Americans age 65 or older currently have Alzheimer’s. With the baby boomer generation aging and people living longer, that number may nearly triple by 2050. Alzheimer’s, of course, is just one cause of dementia—mini-strokes (TIAs) are also to blame—so the number of those [...]
As we know, the holidays are a time for family and friends, when people travel far and wide to be with loved ones. With all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it’s important to plan for the unexpected. If you were injured in an accident and could no longer make decisions for yourself, [...]
If you are a veteran or the spouse of a veteran, then you may be eligible for VA pension benefits, and VA pension planning may be an option for you. VA pension benefits consist of monthly cash benefits paid to eligible wartime veterans or their surviving spouses and dependent children to help defray care costs. [...]
Family law includes nearly every area of law; however, the purpose of this blog post is to explore some estate planning considerations in the context of a divorce. This post is limited to estate plans drafted in California and divorces taking place in California, as each state may have different laws. If you have an [...]
This is something I hear almost weekly in my office. Most clients are surprised to hear that the general answer is “the government will not take your money.” Estates will usually pay little-to-no money to the government through taxes unless there are debts owed to governmental agencies such as Medi-Cal. There are two types of [...]
A power of attorney allows the principal to delegate authority to the agent, sometimes referred to as the “attorney in-fact,” to act on the principal’s behalf in managing the principal’s financial affairs; however, the principal retains his or her power to perform these same functions. An important component of the power of attorney is “durability,” [...]
Recently, I’ve met with many clients who have revocable living trusts, and other estate planning documents, that were executed some fifteen or twenty years ago. The issue with many of these estate plans is that they are non-compliant with privacy rules established by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). As a result, their [...]
