Ideally, every family in Southern California would be close and loving with each other. In this veritable Garden of Eden, creating an estate plan would be easy. Every parent would draw up a will, trust or combination of the two that would name their children as equal beneficiaries of his or her estate. When the time comes, …. Read More
Unfortunately, even the most well thought out estate planning can lead to conflict after you pass away. A family that normally gets along and has strong bonds can fall apart over accusations that one relative has “cheated” another by manipulating the descedant or falsifying the will or trust. Lengthy, expensive litigation can be the result. …. Read More
When parents in Los Angeles sit down to craft their estate plan, they often do so with their children in mind. Their will or trust may name their children as beneficiaries of their estate, either to provide the kids with financial security while they are young or to give them a leg up when they are adults. …. Read More
Should You Have A Will Or A Trust? – This is a question that many people are asking themselves. In our law blog post, we began a discussion comparing wills and trusts, two legal instruments that are available to people conducting their estate planning. Our previous post focused on wills. In this post, we will …. Read More
The pets we keep are as varied as are the people of Los Angeles. With that in mind, consider the life span of various types of pets we might have (in years according to the Humane Society): hamster, 1-3 years; goldfish, 5-10; rabbit, 8-12; dog, 10-15; cat, 15-20; horse 40; catfish 60; parrot, 50-80; swan …. Read More
In Los Angles we tend to be trend-setters rather than followers, and it appears that estate planning is no exception. “Spiritual” estate planning is gaining followers, although many are already making their estate planning decisions with this in mind. Just what is spiritual estate planning you may ask? Simply put, spiritual estate planning is making end-of-life and …. Read More
A family squabble is nothing new. Those of us in California can probably think of a dozen movies based on just that premise. A family squabble that ends in a lawsuit is much less common. Recently it was reported that a daughter requested an independent audit of a trust that was set up in her …. Read More
When most of us think of QTIPs we may think of cleaning in small spaces. When an estate planning professional thinks of QTIPs he or she would be thinking of a qualified terminable interest property trust. A QTIP is a special type of trust that is highly useful during estate planning, particularly for the blended …. Read More
Experts throughout California, on television talk shows and even in celebrity magazines will tout the importance of having an up-to-date will. A will is part of a complete and well-thought estate plan. For many, a trust is equally important. Financial sources point out that for those with a trust, appointing the trustee is one of the …. Read More
There are a few estate planning misconceptions about which our California readers should be aware. One belief is that estate planning is only for wealthy people. The truth is that any homeowner could probably benefit from estate planning. Another misconception is that estate planning only takes care of events after you die. That is also …. Read More
