When a family member passes away, family dynamics are often drastically changed. Even more so when other family members are living in the decedent’s family home, which can occur in a few different ways; thus, pre-planning with a right of occupancy spelled out in your trust can avoid any ambiguities and clarify who owns the property after death and who…
A client recently asked about leaving property to his only child and wanted to know if he could add his child on title to his home rather than using a trust. The client wanted to use joint tenancy to avoid probate and smooth transition between parent and child. While my client was correct about avoiding probate and the smoother transition,…
A power of attorney is an essential part of a comprehensive estate plan. It is common to create your entire estate plan and only think about updating your will and trust as your thoughts on distributing your property may change. However, it is imperative to make sure that you keep other documents up to date as well. Specifically, it is…
The last thing grieving family members want to think about is money. Making preparations with your finances should be at the top of that list to help relieve your loved ones of any added stress when the time comes. But, you might think, what’s the big deal? It’s just an account that holds my money. That may be true, but…
As you and your loved ones age, you might wonder what are the available options for housing for seniors, and what is the right fit? The good news is that there are several broad options for senior housing and within each option is a spectrum of smaller options to best meet your needs. We will break each housing option down…
When it comes to estate planning, we find that many of our clients want to divide their entire estate equally among their children. Unfortunately, this presents a challenge after death for a variety of reasons – especially when real estate is involved. And now that Prop 19 has passed in California, there are even more complications and things to consider.…