A: Because no one knows what type of medical treatment you want more than you do! Having an advance directive in place ensures that your wishes regarding your health care are carried out, even when you're unable to make your wishes known. In fact, in the absence of a...
When planning their estate, many people in California wonder if they should include their children in their will or trust. Some parents view their estate as their final gift to their children. However, some parents fear that leaving a large sum of money to their...
It may have been easy, but it is far from the best way! With respect to capital gains tax liability, when your mom gifted you her property, she unfortunately also gifted you her tax basis. This means, for example, that if your mom paid $50,000 for the property - and...
Service members have life insurance through Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance. If you have a living trust, name it as the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. If you have minor children but don’t have a trust, you should definitely create one and name it as...
One of the most important questions that you’ll need to answer when creating your estate plan is how to divide assets between your children. In some cases, it is wise to simply give each of your sons or daughters an equal share of your estate. However, there are...
Although wills can be an effective way to protect estates in California, sometimes a will can still be challenged in court. It should be noted that not just anyone can challenge a person's will, rather, only those who will be affected by the document would have the...
A: Yes, as long as you are in possession of a key to the safety deposit box, Probate Code Section 331(a) requires the bank to give you access to do a “will search”. The bank will then log your identity as the requester, supervise you while you inventory contents, make...
2022 update: $15,000 per year in 2021 and $16,000 per year in 2022 A: The short answer is NO: you almost certainly will NOT have to pay any gift taxes. Remember, under current law, you can make $11.58 million dollars’ worth of gifts in your lifetime without incurring...
The third week of October has been designated by Congress as National Estate Planning Awareness Week! We're celebrating by shining a spotlight on estate planning mistakes that celebrities have made. With all the money they have, you'd think they'd be able to...
A: Although Probate Code Section 6122 largely disinherits a former spouse automatically upon entry of a divorce judgment, the same is NOT true while the divorce is in process. Therefore, as soon as possible after the divorce proceedings have been initiated, you should...
