As a California estate planning and probate attorney I see both sides.  I see the planning process and I see what happens, after death, when the planning wasn’t done right.  Here is a top 10 list of estate planning mistakes: 10. Name your estate the beneficiary on your IRA, 401k, and other retirement plans. This […]

The IRS released their gift and estate tax exemption numbers for 2015 a few months back. In case you missed it they are: GIFT TAX: It remains at $14,000 per donor per donee.  So a husband and wife can do a “split gift” and give $28,000 to any indivudual (family or otherwise). ESTATE and GIFT […]

I have been practicing law since 1994. I have been extremely focused on the areas of estate and probate law during that time.  Through those years I have a number of clients who have property in other countries. Usually we agree that they will talk with an attorney in the other country.  As you might […]

I recently had the following calendar note in a probate case in Alameda County. We had filed a Heggstad petition, pursuant to California probate code 850, to get two properties into a trust after death. I should clarify our firm had NOTHING to do with the case before death. We pride ourselves on helping our […]

For some time now I have advised clients to contact their mortgage holder to see about linking their trust to their mortgage. Without that you can leave your trustee with a problem. The house might be owned by the trust but the mortgage is not connected to the trust. When that happens the trustee can […]

My grandma is 98 years old…. or should I say 98 years YOUNG!?  She called last week to tell me about a great article in the LA Times.  It’s about dying on YOUR TERMS. In fact, the headline in the paper was “Dying on your Own Terms” and the headline online is “How to Help […]

I was reading this article about Robin Williams’ estate. It is written by a Minnesota lawyer.  I am not saying the story is “wrong” but it is a little misleading. Now that makes for better reading than a 100% accurate story of course. In this story they make a big deal about the high cost […]

Have you gotten forms from your life insurance companies giving you the option of providing them an alternate person to receive your lapse notices? I love this! It all stems from California Assembly Bill 1747 which became effective January 1, 2013. It was written into law as California Insurance Code section 10113.71. I think it’s […]

Back in 2012 I posted a blog about talking to your parents about their estate plan. I called it “5 Questions to ask YOUR parents about their estate plan.”  I encourage you to read it before reading on…. The key here is that it’s a sensitive thing and, often, when dealing with your parents it […]

How does one go about notifying the California Department of Health Care Services (aka: “Medi-Cal”) of the death of a friend or loved one? You can have an attorney help you or just go to this handy link on their website. Once there click on NOTICE OF DEATH. Another screen is brought up where you […]