Blog Posts in August, 2011
Posted on Aug 30, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
In the 1970's California voters passed a law called Prop. 13. This law limits the amount of property tax that can be assessed on real property until a new owner takes control of the property. When ...
Continue reading "Tax Benefits of Passing Property to Your Child in California" »
Posted on Aug 29, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
You may hear a lot about celebrities and their troubles with alcohol and drugs. But sometimes even though they may be struggling with decisions they have made in their personal lives, they've done ...
Continue reading "James Brown Estate Battle Still Wages On" »
Posted on Aug 24, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
When writing your will, a good idea is to figure out where you’d like the gift to go if the person you designated as the beneficiary happens to die before you do. If this happens that gift is ...
Continue reading "California: An Anti-Lapse State" »
Posted on Aug 23, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
In these modern times a lot of couples are deciding to forego the traditional marriage route and opt out for a declaration of love and just decide to live together until death (or infidelity) do they ...
Continue reading "Estate Planning for Unmarried Couples" »
Posted on Aug 22, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
The end of summer is nearing. And it's getting close to that time again when the kids are going back to school. Distressing for them, but a relief for you! A lot of planning goes into getting them ...
Continue reading "Back To School: Estate Planning" »
Posted on Aug 17, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Failure to meet all of the probate requirements can lead to several unwanted outcomes. For one, you could be removed as the trustee or executor altogether. You may incur a substantial amount of fines. ...
Continue reading "Do Not Miss Probate Deadlines" »
Posted on Aug 16, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
These days the stock market has become a wild rollercoaster. One day it's way down and the next it's way up. Nobody can accurately predict what the markets are going to be like day to day, but ...
Continue reading "Diversify Stocks Held in Trust" »
Posted on Aug 15, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Maybe you started your life out with very little, you worked very hard your whole life, and obtained a sufficient amount of wealth. And now you'd like to give some of that wealth back to charity ...
Continue reading "Can I Leave Money To Charity When I Die?" »
Posted on Aug 12, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Foreclosure is a word that we've all been hearing a lot of the past couple of years. Losing your home is dreadful. But even worse than that is losing your life and then losing your home! It is ...
Continue reading "Foreclosure in Probate" »
Posted on Aug 11, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
When your loved one passes away without designating a beneficiary for their life insurance policy or the beneficiaries preceded them in death, what happens now? If the decedent had not completed a ...
Continue reading "What Happens to Life Insurance Proceeds Without a Designated Beneficiary?" »
Posted on Aug 10, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
When your loved one passes away, and leaves a life insurance policy behind, you will have to determine whether or not that policy must be used to pay off the decedent's debts. The easiest way to ...
Continue reading "What Happens to Life Insurance Proceeds With a Designated Beneficiary?" »
Posted on Aug 9, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Often times medical bills and other related health expenses can begin to accrue at a substantial rate toward the end of someone's life. These debts must be paid, but you'll first need to ...
Continue reading "What is an Insolvent Estate?" »
Posted on Aug 8, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Often times medical bills and other related health expenses can begin to accrue at a substantial rate toward the end of someone's life. These debts must be paid, but you'll first need to ...
Continue reading "What is a Solvent Estate?" »
Posted on Aug 5, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
We talk a lot about probate, but you may have also heard another term, ancillary probate. An ancillary probate is a type of probate proceeding that would become necessary if you own property outside ...
Continue reading "What is an Ancillary Probate?" »
Posted on Aug 4, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
The recent death of singer Amy Winehouse is a familiar tragedy amongst a long line of celebrities that have passed away at an early age when they were in the prime of their lives and careers. And ...
Continue reading "Did Amy Winehouse Have Good Estate Planning?" »
Posted on Aug 3, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
The costs of not having a Durable General Power of Attorney or Power of Attorney for Health Care included in your estate planning are immense. Without these documents in place your family will need to ...
Continue reading "What Are Some of the Costs of Court Appointed Guardianships/Conservatorships?" »
Posted on Aug 2, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Famed Hollywood icon, Mickey Rooney, testified a few months ago before a Special Senate Committee on Aging regarding his experience with elder abuse . Like so many other elder abuse cases, Mr. Rooney ...
Continue reading "Mickey Rooney - Elder Abuse Awareness" »
Posted on Aug 1, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
As a beneficiary, you may not be aware of the legal protections you have under the Probate Code. One of these protections outlined in section 16004.5, subdivision (a) provides that, “A trustee ...
Continue reading "Relieving a Trustee of Liability - Voluntary vs. Conditional" »