Mary read the trust document again. “This can’t be right,” she said, shaking her head. “Why would Grandpa change the terms of his trust and leave such a large amount of money to this religious group? I’ve never even heard of this organization. Our kids were supposed to benefit from his trust. He always made that clear. This makes no…
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…
We get this question a lot – from younger clients who know their job might get transferred someday. Also, it seems that more and more Californians are choosing to move to another state when they retire, including some of our clients. The answer is, of course, it depends. Most of the time a will that is a valid will in…
I recently attended the Special Needs Planning Symposium. The sessions were all very informative, but it was the opening session that really stands out for me, ‘Proactive and Next Generation Planning for Families That Include a Loved One with Disabilities.’ The panel of presenters in the session really brought to light how important it is to consider the needs of…
Debbie was furious. “Darn Medi-Cal. First, they put Mom through the ringer to qualify for benefits, and then after she dies, they try to recover the money they gave her. How is that even fair? Mom had so little as it is. My God, all she left me and Cyndy was $500 and her house. They probably want that, too.”…
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…
When we last met Jenna and Mark Livingston, they were hunkered down in St. Thomas, U.S Virgin Islands, waiting for Hurricane Astrid to pass. As they huddled in the town assembly hall, Jenna, an attorney, and Mark, a pediatrician, bemoaned their failure to adequately plan for the care of their children in the event of their death. Both age 30,…
