A divorce is an emotional roller coaster and a complex legal proceeding that affects many facets of your life, from finances to family dynamics. One often overlooked aspect is how a divorce might impact your estate plan. If you live in California, understanding post-divorce estate planning is essential in protecting...
Every decision we make shapes our lives in one way or another. But few decisions carry the same weight as those concerning our end-of-life care. Although the topic might seem daunting, having a conversation about end-of-life preferences is crucial to ensuring our wishes are respected when we can no longer...
Making a Difference: How Charitable Giving in Your Estate Plan Can Benefit Your Community and Your Legacy Charitable Bequests One of the most common ways of charitable giving is through a charitable bequest in a will or trust. This allows you to leave a specific amount of money or assets to a...
Blending Families, Blending Assets: How to Navigate Estate Planning and Asset Distribution in Modern Family Structures in California In the United States, the traditional family structure of a married couple with children living together is no longer the only prevalent model. Blended families, which may consist of a couple and their...
Living Trust – Setting it Up Doesn't Have to Be Hard Estate planning is often a daunting and overwhelming task that people put off for far too long. Topics surrounding death are difficult to discuss, and what you plan on doing with your assets after death tends to be taboo. As legal...
Anyone who grew up in a dysfunctional family understands the potential for discord when it comes to the family estate and an inheritance. But even in the closest of families, if there’s money involved, there’s room for conflict. Power of Attorney: Choose the person you can trust In Alana’s case, the dust...
When Jeannie was having trouble making ends meet after her husband died, she asked my friend Jim what he thought about reverse mortgages. Jim spent 40 years in the financial services industry, and these guys tend to be wary of things like life insurance and reverse mortgages. As predicted, Jim...
If you’re paying attention, you’re aware that the subject of caregiving is coming up a lot more frequently in the news and in conversations with friends and colleagues. The AARP is devoting one of its monthly newsletter to a variety of topics related to caring for America’s aging family members....
You may or may not make formal New Year’s resolutions, but many of us make little promises to ourselves--to spend more time with our families, to exercise more and eat a healthier diet. To tackle that old to-do list. Creating a Living Trust tops many to-do lists. After nearly two...
My family tried for years to get my folks to create a Living Trust. While my mom was an easy sell, it was my stepfather, Charlie, who was the holdout. A retired Navy pilot, we figured it was some kind of macho-military thing. He wouldn’t listen to my mom, his...
As you start thinking about what belongs in your Living Trust, here are four things that often get overlooked—and can have significant, often costly consequences. Creating Joint Tenancy Assets In Living Trust conversations, joint tenancy generally refers to real estate and how you hold title to a property. If two people own...
Tom and Gina came into our Oakland office to update their Living Trust—something they regretted not doing years before. Both Tom and Gina are Covid survivors. An RN at Kaiser, Gina became sick in the early days of the pandemic, and Tom soon became infected as well. Both were in...
