Some things you can do to protect your assets for your family are easy to do and some are very difficult.  Why not do the easy ones? First of all you have to remember there are no simple magic trusts.  If there was a magic trust that insulated a person from creditors and liabilities most people would […]

I have had a law practice focused on trusts, estates and probate since 1994.  I have been involved with some thousands of wills, trusts, and probates during that time.  I am not yet aware of a professional, third party, fiduciary stealing, making errors or generally causing trouble in the administration of a trust or estate. […]

Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration are the key in a California probate case.  Testamentary means the Personal Representative (or “Executor”) is named in the will to serve.  When the Letters are “of Administration” that means there was no will or that the person was not named in the will to serve.  The latter more accurately would […]

Who should do your probate? What’s a probate? Where do you probate?  When do you probate?  Why a probate? How do you probate? Let’s start with what’s a probate:  It is simply the Court administered process or clearing title to assets and paying debts after death. Where do you probate: A probate in California is […]

It’s getting to the point where a large percentage of my probate Court work is for people that didn’t plan their trusts properly. That is, they failed to properly fund their trust.  The key is getting ALL your assets lined up with the trust or with proper death beneficiaries.  I say all assets as people forget […]

You have worked hard to earn those airline miles, hotel points, credit card awards and the like. Make sure they don’t go POOF when you die!  Most awards are transferable at death. Most have forms to be filled out by your loved ones, after death, to avoid a full probate.  Some even allow a beneficiary […]

I always tell clients they can just bring themselves to the first estate planning meeting. I tell them they probably have all the information I need to know in their heads already.  However, if you want to make sure you are ready for that first meeting here are FIVE important things to think about before […]

I actually have clients stop to see me on the way to the airport! Yes, really. On the way to the airport they stop to sign their new estate plan or amendments to their current estate plan. What if you don’t have time to stop? What if you are at SMF or any other airport […]

I generally say a probate is not the worst thing in the world. However, when it comes to a multi-state probate it can be a real nightmare!  It can be something you, or more aptly put your loved ones, would want to avoid!  It’s easy to slip into a multi-state probate.  The most typical cases […]

My motto is “the sooner you start a probate the sooner you finish it.”  For most clients this is the appropriate course of action; get it started so you can get it DONE!  Most people don’t want to think about the death of a loved one any longer than they have to.  Thus the key becomes hiring […]