When Anna approached her 80th year, she decided it would be wise to add her daughter Amy’s name to her checking account. “After all,” she told her children, “she already pays my bills and does my grocery shopping. What happens if I become ill and can no longer sign the checks? Someone has to have access to my bank account…
The California Legislature, late in 2017, enacted the Building Homes and Jobs Act. The stated purpose of this law is to establish permanent and ongoing source of funding for affordable housing developments. Part of the law that affects those doing estate planning is a $75 recording fee that must “be paid at the time of recording of every real estate…
Mary was ill-prepared for the drama that was probate. “I mean, seriously,” she told her friend, Amy. “Who would have thought Uncle Harry would leave his estate in such a mess? I found deeds, contracts, promissory notes, life insurance policies, and wills, multiple wills, in his house, stuffed in the trunk of his car, in his shed, even in his…
Jack and Mary have five children, one of whom suffers from Down Syndrome. While their son, Michael, is able to complete basic tasks, such as eating and dressing, he lacks the ability to live on his own. At age 20, Michael has the mental capacity of a much younger child. He is unable to make decisions regarding finances, and has…
When Carole and Michael created a trust for the benefit of their adult children, they had two goals in mind. First, they wanted to avoid probate, and second, they wanted to take advantage of California Proposition 58, which permits transfers of real property from a parent to a child in a tax-advantageous manner. To facilitate their goals, they decided to…
When Oliver died, at the ripe old age of 96, he left behind eight lineal descendants or heirs—three sons and five grandchildren. All of them believed that they would inherit from Oliver. He had told them about his Living Trust and promised each and every one of them that they would be “well taken care of.” Upon Oliver’s death, however,…
When we last heard from Jenna and Mark, they were clinging to one another, attempting to wait out Hurricane Astrid in a community center in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. The trip was Mark’s attempt to reignite the romance in their lives, after the birth of their third child, Mikey, five months prior. At age 30, they had thriving careers—Jenna…