Do you know what you want to happen in terms of your medical care for life sustaining treatment? If you have firm beliefs about what this should look like, they need to be documented in a living will. Also known as a directive to physicians, a living will is a critical component to your plans… Read More »
Blog Posts Page 4
Is Gray Divorce Going to Impact Your Estate Plan?
Getting a divorce is never easy since it represents so many changes for the entire family. Even if your kids are grown and child custody isn’t a part of your divorce, the financial implications of getting divorce when you’re older are serious. You’ll need to be prepare to potentially adapt your estate or retirement plan… Read More »
Research Shows More Americans Want to Age in Place
Have you crafted personal plans for your long term care? What if you need care and support beyond what your spouse or other family members can provide? It’s natural to want to avoid thinking about these difficult subjects, but it’s crucial for you and your loved ones to have a basic idea of plans if… Read More »
Do Beneficiaries Have Recourse When They Are Being Kept in the Dark About an Estate?
The appointment of a party to handle administration of the estate is not just important for your own peace of mind, but it’s essential for your beneficiaries as they’ll have to work with and speak to this person during probate. If the executor fails to keep them properly informed, this can strain relationships, delay probate,… Read More »
What Is the Purpose of Writing a Letter to Go Along with Your Will?
An explanatory letter is a document that does not have the strict legal requirements of a will but enables you to provide further context to the information provided in your will and in other estate planning documents. While a will is strictly for inherited legal tasks like naming beneficiaries for your property, guardians for minor… Read More »
Should All My Children Inherit Equally?
Dividing up your estate when you have multiple children can be challenging. Divvying up your estate in what appears to be an equal way among your children can make sense particularly when their relationships with you and the histories are the same. Equal distribution is one of the simplest ways to avoid family conflict over… Read More »
What a Prospective Personal Representative in California Should Know
There’s a lot of work involved to close out someone’s estate, a fact that is often discovered once the personal representative is knee deep in paperwork and process. Each person who writes a will in California has the opportunity to name who they want in this important role, and this is a consideration that is… Read More »
Are Elders at Risk of Power of Attorney Scams?
A power of attorney is an important and entirely legal document that allows you to name someone to serve as your agent under certain circumstances. As your agent, this person can sign documents on your behalf and take on other financial management tasks. The elderly population, especially those suffering from cognitive issues, are at risk… Read More »
What is a Needs Assessment and Why Is it Important?
Are you an adult child caring for a loved one or are you curious about putting a spouse or other family member in assisted living or a nursing home? These decisions are notoriously difficult and are compounded by the language and jargon associated with these kinds of transitions. When seeking out the right residential location… Read More »
How to Balance Your Retirement with Your Estate Planning Needs
Both for the purposes of planning for your own retirement and longevity and for ensuring that your loved ones receive assets valuable to them once you pass away, it’s a good idea to think about the type of funds you’ll need in retirement. You’ll need to focus on spending rather than income to determine what’s… Read More »
What Happens to Cash Accounts Owned by an Estate?
When a loved one passes away with cash inside their accounts, what happens to these funds next depends on how the accounts were held. If the individual owned that account in their own name and failed to designate a payable on death beneficiary, then the account most likely needs to go through the probate process…. Read More »
What Assets Are Not Affected by State Intestate Succession Law?
Intestate succession refers to the process of how the courts determine who receives what in a loved one’s estate when that individual passes away without a will. This determines both how an individual be appointed to administer the affairs of the estate and who is eligible to receive assets within the estate. However, not all… Read More »
Is It Legal for a California Trustee to Charge for an Accounting of the Trust?
California trustees are those individuals who have been appointed upon the creation of a trust to administer the trust. Trustees in California are eligible to charge a reasonable fee for the services they provide in this role. Circumstances will dictate what counts as reasonable. Being a trustee is a significant role. If there’s someone in… Read More »
Can a Beneficiary of My California Will Also Be a Witness?
For your will to be valid, it needs to be signed. Having a witness there to be able to attest to the circumstances of the signing process helps support the document’s validity. A witness is important especially if someone alleges that your will is invalid in the future. A witness who is also a beneficiary… Read More »
When Can I Revoke a Living Trust in California?
Most people turn to a revocable trust because of the flexibility it provides. This means that you can choose to update the terms of the existing trust or to completely revoke it and eliminate its existence. Unlike an irrevocable trust, a revocable trust exists at the very discretion of the creator and can therefore be… Read More »
Without a Will, Who Gets My California Estate?
If you have a properly executed will, this document speaks for you after you pass away when it comes to decisions about who gets your assets or who will serve as the guardian for your minor children. If you don’t have a will, however, these important decisions are handled by the California courts. This process,… Read More »
What You Need to Know About Valuing Assets Inside an Estate
When your estate gets settled with the support of a personal representative or executor, date of death values must be established for the assets inside that estate. While you can include appraisal records for valued items at the time you create your will, but this will need to be done again by a personal representative… Read More »
What Is the First Step in Settling My Probated Estate?
You might have questions about what your personal representative or executor would need to do when you pass away. This important person has the responsibility of ensuring that your estate goes through the probate process as quickly and as streamlined as possible. The first step in this process is to determine whether or not the… Read More »
How Much Should a Successor Trustee Be Paid?
A successor trustee is a person who steps in to control the management of a revocable living trust in two different circumstances. The first of these is when the grantor has become incapacitated and is no longer able to manage the trust on their own. The second circumstance involves the death of the individual who… Read More »
What to Include When Gathering Information for Your Will
You can’t make plans for distributing your property until you’re clear about what property you own. The first step in deciding how your property will be distributed in the future is gathering information. You’ll need details associated with anyone who is named into your will, such as a proposed guardian, a spouse, children, executors, or… Read More »
