You live nowhere near Sacramento but you have a legal issue here. How would that work?  Some common reasons people, who live elsewhere, hire us to do legal work are: 1) mom/dad/relative/friend died in the Sacramento area and you need a probate attorney here to handle that for you and 2) your mom/dad/relative/friend lives here and […]

I met with some giddy newlyweds last week.  They were about 70 years old and really they define the word GIDDY!  As the kids would say, “OMG!”  We met to discuss their estate planning needs. Though not worth millions they do have assets that they have worked hard to gather.  Also, they each have kids […]

At least once a week I get a call from a perspective client that goes something like this: ME: “Good morning this is John Palley….” CLIENT: “I need your help fast… we are trying to sell mom’s house… it might be in foreclosure… and the mortgage company won’t talk to me since we haven’t started […]

You may want to tell me I am wrong but did you know airline (and hotel) miles are only worth about a penny each?  Yes, really.  Well, think about it. Let’s say it takes 35,000 miles for the average domestic round trip on some airline, right?  What does the average ticket cost?  $350?  So, about a […]

Titling, titling, titling…. As with real estate it’s location, location, location with trusts, it’s titling, titling and TITLING!  What do I mean?  Well, there are several issues that can arise with trust titling errors which can cause big headaches for you and/or your loved ones. The most common is a slightly different trust name.  So, […]

I was listening to the Dan Patrick show this morning on Fox Sports Radio. He went to a commercial break where he read the commercial. It was for Legal Zoom.  For those of you who don’t know, Legalzoom.com is a website that will draft simple legal documents for you for fees that are typically much […]

Ok, maybe it’s not exactly a “resolution” but I think it’s akin to it.  Many people go into the new year with a list of self improvement goals, including the thought to get their estate plan done.  The list might be something like this: – Go the gym at least 5 days a week; – […]

How many people would be so excited if you foundsome brand new lawyer willing to prepare their trust for $500?  What a deal, right?  An experienced attorney like myself might charge $2,000, or more, for a living trust package for a husband and wife.  Some charge $5,000 and up… but of course they have fancy offices and […]

Are you one of the people (or child of a person) who has “too much” money?  Some of my clients go as far as to call it “the problem” of having too much money.  Yes, it’s true many people just have too much money and Uncle Sam is waiting for you to die!  As I […]

Did you know your attorney can appear in most any courtoom in California while sitting at his or her desk? Just about every Court participates in CourtCall (a service connecting attorneys to courtrooms for a nominal fee) or allows attorneys to dial in to the Courthouse directly. Why does this matter to you? Generally speaking […]