Interesting Forbes article here. Can you imagine 1 in 8 BABY BOOMERS will get Alzheimer’s after they turn 65?  How important is estate planning before that time?  Well, if there is a 1 in 8 chance you, or your loved ones, will get Alzheimer’s then there should be an estate plan in place.  A trust, a financial power of […]

California Probate Form DE-174 Allowance or Rejection of Creditor’s Claim is an important form in the California probate process. Any time a creditors claim is filed it’s good policy to allow or reject the claim that is filed (or allow in part and reject in part). If it’s allowed that does NOT mean the creditor […]

California Probate Form DE-165 Notice of Proposed Action is a crucial form in the California probate process. It is generally used to put all parties on notice of a pending real estate sale or similar transaction (re-finance or even listing with a Realtor). It also is sometimes used when selling personal property or any other […]

Fridays are made for ESTATE PLANNING… and so are, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday….  Yes, I realize all the other days are good too but Friday is especially good because: 1) It’s TODAY 2) It’s a day a lot of people are at work and maybe not feeling like doing real work so […]

100% of the people who get married plan to stay married.  50% of those people are wrong.  With this in mind doing proper estate planning is crucial. In fact, there is protection planning you can do for yourself before you get married but even better protection planning that can be done for your kids or […]

Requests for trust accounting should be done by a beneficiary as soon as possible. Pursuant to California probate code 1060 (the accounting section) and 16060 et seq (the duty to inform section).  This starts a time clock and the trustee’s failure to comply with a reasonable request can put the trustee in a place of […]

California Probate Form DE-161 Inventory and Appraisal Attachment is a necessary part of any full probate. It is used to list all assets that will be appraised in the probate.  Attachment 1 is used to list assets the administrator and the attorney can easily appraise (basically cash assets like bank accounts) and attachment 2 is […]

I just read this interesting article on Forbes.com about British musician Amy Winehouse.  Ms. Winehouse died in July 2011. Her estate is estimated at about $6.7m (in US Dollars) but after the costs of probate and similar fees it is reduced to approximately $4.66m.  Her parents split that money, as next of kin, as they […]

Estate Planning for Second Marriages is very difficult. Today I am attending a seminar covering some of the issues as follows in this blog. This is actually a three part seminar I will be attending. This is session one: The tax and non-tax reasons blended family estate plans often fail and how to define and […]

I found this article on https://www.paramuspost.com and wanted to share with my readers. A nice summary by Mel Fabrikant on a recent California appellate Court decision. California Court of Appeal Rules for Same-Sex Partner in Inheritance By Mel Fabrikant Saturday, May 05, 2012, 03:26 PM EDT Dispute Court Recognizes New Legal Claim for Unmarried Partners Intentionally Deprived of Expected […]