We know lots of people don’t like to think or talk about dying. We can see how our own clients often put off doing their estate planning until something happens that they see as a wake-up call: a friend dies suddenly without a will, leaving a mess for the family; or our client has to serve as their parents’ 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…
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…
Perhaps the most important decision you will ever make is who will serve as guardian(s) for your children. In California, a child under the age of 18 is not legally qualified to care for her or himself if both parents die. Any child under the age of 18 must have a legally appointed guardian. Typically, guardians of minor children are…