Use Payable on Death Accounts as an Estate Planning Tool
Estate planning often focuses on wills and living trusts, but many people overlook a simple and powerful tool that already exists within their financial accounts. Payable on death accounts, often abbreviated as POD, can play an important role in helping families avoid probate and simplify the transfer of assets…
Protect Child’s Inheritance From Divorce: Estate Planning Secrets
If you left your child one million dollars, would it be protected from divorce?…
Why You Should Never Put Your Child’s Name on the Deed to Your Home in California
One of the most common questions I hear from clients is: what are the tax ramifications of selling a house that was in a revocable living trust?…
How to Choose a Trustee or Executor for Your California Estate Plan
Estate planning is all about legacy and passing things on. Many times, emotions and sentimentality drive decisions about what happens to your most valuable possessions. A mother will often keep her wedding dress for decades, imagining the day her daughter walks down the aisle wearing it…
Why Brides Don’t Wear Their Mom’s Wedding Dress and What It Means for Your Estate Plan
Estate planning is all about legacy and passing things on. Many times, emotions and sentimentality drive decisions about what happens to your most valuable possessions. A mother will often keep her wedding dress for decades, imagining the day her daughter walks down the aisle wearing it…
Estate Planning for People With Dementia in California
Writing your own estate plan may seem like a smart and affordable decision. Online services and pre-made trust templates promise simplicity and control. In practice, these plans often create confusion, conflict, and expensive legal problems after someone passes away…
Don’t DIY Your Estate Plan in California
Writing your own estate plan may seem like a smart and affordable decision. Online services and pre-made trust templates promise simplicity and control. In practice, these plans often create confusion, conflict, and expensive legal problems after someone passes away…
Do I Really Need an Estate Plan If I’m Not Wealthy in California?
One of the most common questions I hear as a California estate planning attorney is simple and honest. Do I really need an estate plan if I am not wealthy?…
When Should You Update Your Estate Plan in California?
One of the most common questions I hear as a California estate planning lawyer is whether a living trust can be changed after it is created. The short answer is yes, in most cases, you can change a revocable living trust whenever you want…
Transfer on Death Deeds in California: What You Should Know
California homeowners are often told there is a simple way to avoid probate using a transfer on death deed. On the surface, this sounds appealing. Probate in California is expensive, slow, and public, and most families want to avoid it if possible…