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Cookie-cutter plans just don’t cut it for LGBTQIA+ families. While major strides for LGBTQ+ rights have been made in recent years, estate planning law is still written with hetero, cisgender couples in mind, which means that your wishes and your rights may not be respected when you die or if you become incapacitated without proper [...]
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 estates and lifetime gifts—but many of us should. In 2024, the estate [...]
Many pet owners worry about what will happen to their animals when they pass away. Fortunately, California law allows for the creation and establishment of something called a “pet trust,” which allows pet owners to legally set aside funds to be applied towards the lifetime care of their furry, feathery and scaly family members. A [...]
The holidays are here, and what does that mean? Soon you’ll be hearing people talking about their New Year’s resolutions. “I’m going to read at least one hour per day,” they’ll say. They’ll emphatically declare, “I’m going to work out more,” and “I’m going to eat better!” But let’s be honest—these types of resolutions require [...]
Marriage changes a lot of things—but should it change your existing trust? To answer that question, let’s look at a hypothetical: John has two children: Dick and Jane. John purchases a home on Evergreen Lane and transfers that home into the John Doe Revocable Trust. Wanting to leave his children a tangible asset that can [...]
Unknown to many of us, the government does not take money from a person’s estate most of the time. In fact, 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. The two main types of tax to consider are income tax and [...]
California wills come in several different forms—attested, statutory, holographic, and pour-over. These different types of wills are all similar in that each is a testamentary document (1) created and executed by an adult of sound find; (2) which makes a disposition of property to individuals or entities. However, the format and execution requirements of each [...]
On January 1, 2016, the California legislature enacted Assembly Bill 139, which permits individuals to transfer real property upon death using a revocable transfer-on-death (TOD) deed. Since then, the TOD deed has emerged as an attractive option for homeowners looking for a quick and simple way to transfer property upon death outside of probate court, [...]
A person’s decision to create a trust typically rests upon two factors: (1) the ability of a trust to manage distributions much more effectively than a will; and (2) that person’s desire to spare his or her beneficiaries the time and expense of probate. However, mere execution of a trust will not necessarily prevent particular [...]
As Benjamin Franklin famously remarked, the only certainties in this world are “death and taxes.” While we all know that death is an inevitable part of the cycle of life, most of us would prefer to avoid the subject altogether. However, failing to engage in any sort of pre-planning for your estate, financial, and health [...]
