Including Friends as Beneficiaries in Your California Will: What You Need to Know When most people think of writing a will, they envision leaving their assets to their family members. However, for various reasons, some individuals may choose to leave their assets to their close friends instead. In California, it is...
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...
Common Mistakes When Drafting Your Will - Essential Tips for Protecting Your Assets and Loved Ones Picture this: you've worked hard your entire life to accumulate your assets and want to ensure they're distributed according to your wishes after you're gone. So, you decide to draft a will - great decision!...
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...
What Will Happen to Your Pet If You Die? Here's What You Need to Know! Have you ever wondered what would happen to your beloved pet if you unexpectedly passed away? This is a difficult question to consider, but it's critical to have a strategy in place so your beloved pet will...
New Year's Resolution - Set Up Your Living Trust Are you looking for inspiration for a New Year's resolution for 2023? Consider establishing a living trust. We know estate planning is probably not at the top of anyone's resolution list, but a living trust can be a worthwhile investment for yourself...
What is Probate? If someone close to you dies and has a will, you might think everything will go smoothly, and assets will be distributed accordingly without any problems or questions. Unfortunately, that's not always the case. If a will is contested or there are debts to pay, the Probate process...
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...
A Guideway Trust client, Shirley, decided that the new year was time for making long overdue changes to her life. She made an appointment to create a Living Trust, which includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive, that she’d been putting off for years. She started doing...
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...
