Adult Protective Services is a great community service for elders. It is a county department dedicated to the safety and well-being of our elders. Financial elder abuse, in particular, is rampant in California. In this blog post, I share some information about Adult Protective Services so that we can educate ourselves and our elders and hopefully decrease the number of victims.
When was the last time you checked on the beneficiary designations on your life insurance policy? I have just read about a recent case in California where a father failed to change his life insurance beneficiary designations after his divorce. Now, after winning a court battle, his ex-wife will get the life insurance proceeds that he wanted sons to have.
In estate planning, the trustee, executor, and agent with power of attorney are all fiduciaries. Any of these jobs can be said to be very important and require the chose person to be trustworthy above all else. This article will explain what a fiduciary is and describe the responsibilities of each of these designations.
The QTIP Trust was formerly a very useful tax planning tool. Now that estate taxes are not an issue for the vast majority of Americans, you should understand the other benefits of a QTIP Trust because they can provide significant protection for your heirs.
Real estate investment can provide you with an additional source of income, but you must not be a passive landlord. You will find that there are many traps for landlords and this article discusses a number of those traps. This list was inspired by real-life events (well, at least real to the people involved).
Find out why only having a Will is going to cost your heirs and beneficiaries a sizeable chunk of their inheritance. Learn how attorney fees and executor commissions are calculated and what some of the other costs of probate are. Discover that a revocable living trust can save your heirs and beneficiaries money and allow them to get more of their inheritance faster.
Here are just three terrible "shortcuts" to leaving your adult children an inheritance. Picking one of these “simple fixes” instead of developing an estate plan can cause bickering at best or at worst, or cause your children to start an all-out war against each other.
Since it has been 40 years since Prop. 13 was passed, many Californian homeowners are not familiar with it. This blog entry will provide you with some background on Prop. 13 plus explain some ways you can avoid having the value of your home reassessed (and prevent the likely increase in property taxes) when you have a change of ownership on your home.
Robo-Will Makers and other website sites offering low-cost alternatives provide "one size fits all" solutions that can end up costing your heirs more than you would pay for making an estate plan with an attorney.
In California, there are two types of guardians – a guardian of the person and a guardian of the estate. Guardians of the person are appointed to take care of a child whose parents can no longer do so. A guardian of the person (or as I like to refer to t...
A Will alone does not avoid probate because the probate court is required to oversee the transfer of property if you do not have a properly funded Trust. Some of the pitfalls of probate are discussed, including the possibility of multiple probates, and the actual cost of probate is detailed in this blog post.
As newlyweds, I bet you have spent a lot of time planning a life together and consolidating homes, so this is an ideal time to plan for your future life together as a couple. Leaving things to chance eliminates so many options when it comes to estate planning and can result in unintended consequences if you or your spouse should die without a valid Will or Trust.
If you want to save some time and money plus you dread the idea of your mental health or financial information being discussed in open court, you need to know which two documents can save you from court interference in the event of your incapacity and after death.
If your child is college bound, you have probably made several to-do lists to help prepare for the move but have you considered any estate planning? Your son or daughter is an adult now and there are 5 estate planning documents that experts recommend they have prepared.
Estate planning is more than just paperwork. Ultimately, you are demonstrating your love to those who will benefit from your planning. Here are several emotional reasons that you may not have thought about before. They can even help you strengthen family bonds if you embrace estate planning.
Giving your heirs their inheritance as a lump sum could end up enabling addiction or make successful treatment more difficult. Fortunately, there’s a better way. You can frame your estate plans in such a way that you’ll ensure your wealth has only a positive impact on your loved one during their difficult moments.
People often set up bank accounts or real estate so that they own it jointly with a spouse or other family member. he appeal of joint tenancy is that when one owner dies, the other will automatically inherit the property without it having to go through probate. Joint property is also perceived to be easy to setup, but joint ownership can also cause unintended consequences and complications.
In this article, get the answer to that question and discover what can really happen if you are relying on state laws to protect your spouse and children.
Since I have become mother, I could not imagine anyone else raising my sons. No one can do that better than me. However, it is very important to take a moment and decide who could be a capable of raising your children if you and their other parent where unable. Without estate planning, the person you believe would be the best candidate may never get appointed as your children's guardian. This list can help you decide who would be the best choice for your children.
Incapacity can be a temporary or permanent disability where you are incapable of making informed decisions about your finances and well-being. Having a comprehensive incapacity plan in place can prevent a court-appointed conservatorship. There are four documents that are crucial to have in place so that your loved ones can avoid court, be prepared, and can most effectively help you during your incapacity.
I am devoted to making estate planning as accessible, efficient and personalized as possible. This way individuals and families are motivated to express their estate planning goals and loved ones do not have to deal with the disastrous fallout from a lack of planning.
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