Recent Blog Posts
Strategies To Avoid Relatives Fighting Over Your Estate Plan
It often happens that when people sit down to do their estate plan, they may want to leave more property to some beneficiaries or family members than others. When family gets more than friends, that isn’t usually a problem, but it often does become a problem when some family members are receiving more through… Read More »
Dying: What Is The Cost To Those Left Behind?
What does it cost to die? This sounds like a silly question, or at least, an obvious one. But dying does have a financial cost, and if that cost is overlooked in an estate plan, it can lead to beneficiaries not getting whatever it is that you intended for them to receive, or else,… Read More »
French Actor Tries To Have Pet Euthanized In His Estate Plan: There Are Better Ways
Many people, when planning their estate, make plans for beloved pets. That’s a great idea. But one French actor tried to include a provision that proved to be very controversial, and ultimately, denied: he asked that his otherwise healthy dog be euthanized, so that he could be laid to rest with his animal. Request… Read More »
Avoid The Cost And Expenses Of Probate Court-It’s Not Cheap
You probably have read both our blog and others advising about the benefits of avoiding probate—in fact, that’s one main reason to have an estate plan in the first place. But one main reason to avoid probate is money—probate isn’t cheap, and avoiding it can save money in your estate, and thus ensure that… Read More »
Divide And Conquer: The Benefits Of A Directed Trust
In its simplest terms, a trust is set up by you, with instructions to the trustee on how and when to administer and distribute the assets that you place into the trust. The trustee has a lot of responsibility, and may have a lot of discretion, or very little discretion, all based on what… Read More »
Leaving Life Insurance Proceeds To A Trust: Does It Make Sense?
When you purchase a life insurance policy, you will very likely name a minor child as a beneficiary, if you have one. That’s natural, and that’s why you have life insurance—to take care of people you love. And, of course, we don’t anticipate the worst, so our assumption is that our minor children won’t… Read More »
California’s Next-Of-Kin Laws Can Create Problems
We tend to think of an estate plan as something you draw up and draft, in anticipation of whenever it is that you pass away. But estate plans aren’t just about death—they also help you plan for the contingency that you may be alive, but in no state to manage your affairs, or make… Read More »
Reverse Mortgages In Probate Court: What Will Happen?
There are mixed opinions on reverse mortgages, with some people seeing them as a valuable lifeline for seniors, and others seeing them as an industry fraught with misrepresentation that prays on in-need senior citizens. Whichever it is, many people have reverse mortgages, and that means that many people stand to inherit property with reverse… Read More »
3 Things A Small Business Owner Needs In An Estate Plan
Estate planning is crucial for anyone. But if you have a business, estate planning is even more important. Think of your business as sustained support for your loved ones; its ability to continue when you are gone is part of the financial support you are leaving to your loved ones. And yet, a lot… Read More »
Modifying Irrevocable Trusts
There are a lot of great things about irrevocable trusts. Irrevocable trusts have the benefit of creditor protection; no creditor can ever reach whatever property is put into an irrevocable trust. There are a lot of ways to save on taxes that are only available by putting property into an irrevocable trust. But the… Read More »