If you have been a reader of our newsletters and blog articles for any period of time, you know we offer many solutions to avoiding probate. However, you should be equally concerned with avoiding conservatorship, for many of the same reasons. If you have ever gone through the conservatorship process for a loved one, you…
A very important part of establishing your comprehensive estate plan is addressing Medicaid benefits. Medicaid is the federal government program that provides medical care for those who do not have the means to do so. Here in California, the program is administered by the State under the Medical program. If you don’t plan for these…
After arranging your revocable trust and other estate planning documents with an attorney, it is easy to assume that you have checked estate planning off of your list forever. The reality is not so simple. Not only do tax laws frequently change, but so does your life. The smallest change could have a big impact…
Estate planning is an incredibly important tool, not just for the uber wealthy or those thinking about retirement. On the contrary, estate planning is something every adult should do. Estate planning can help you accomplish any number of goals, including appointing guardians for minor children, choosing healthcare agents to make decisions for you should you…
When someone dies, they often leave behind assets that must be disbursed and debts that must be paid. The process by which this happens is probate. It is a court-supervised process by which these tasks are handled in accordance with the law, with the ultimate goal of achieving fairness in the distribution. The process occurs…
Time is life’s most valuable asset. In economics, scarcity of a particular item often drives up its value. No matter how much wealth you have accumulated, when your time is up, your money cannot buy you anymore. In fact, the minute we were conceived a clock immediately began ticking on our lifespan. We are the…
Regardless of your political affiliation, the next election stands to greatly affect our lives going forward. In regard to the laws taxing your estate, this couldn’t be truer. With a promise by the Democratic party to make sweeping changes to the current tax laws, including a return of federal estate taxes to their historic norms,…
When a trust is made irrevocable, either through the death of a settlor (the person who created the trust) or through expressed language in the trust agreement, the trust generally cannot be unilaterally amended or modified. However, this doesn’t mean that if the trust is no longer serving its original purpose, you are stuck with…
It is likely that you have heard of both a will and a living trust, but you may not be able to discern the difference between the two. You may even think that a living trust is just for the super-rich, or even worse, that both a will and a living trust are only for…
The answer is not as easy as yes or no (of course, it involves attorneys right!). As you may know, the trustee of a trust serves in a fiduciary position in which they manage the trust. The role is different than a beneficiary who receives the benefit of the assets held in the trust (for…
