YOUR LIFELONG TRUSTED ADVISOR
If you have children who cause you to lay awake at night wondering how they might waste their inheritance, make sure to tell your trust attorney. Evaluating the maturity, spending habits, and bad choices of your children will help determine how you...
A: Although a will is an essential piece to an estate plan, on its own, a will does absolutely nothing to help keep your family out of probate. Having said that, just because you only have a will does not automatically mean your estate will be subject to...
A: If probate is necessary, someone must come forward to start the probate process, which generally lasts six months to a year and consists of three main phases: 1) Appointment of the executor/administrator; 2) Administration of the estate; and 3)...
A: Probate is an acronym that stands for “Painful Robbery Of Bank Accounts, Time, & Energy”. OK, so maybe it’s not actually an acronym, but that’s still a very accurate description and easy way to remember why it’s so terrible! Technically, probate...
A: Yes, without a trust that property is destined for probate, and here’s why: The current law states that if the fair market value of the property is greater than $166,250 - and it’s hard to imagine a home in the Napa area that is worth less than...
For many, it sounds like a dream come true. A long-lost uncle with no other heirs passes away, only to leave a magnificent beachfront property to you. While nearly everyone would love to inherit a dream home after a relative or close friend dies, the reality is...
A solid estate plan includes many details. A major one is having the right executor, or personal representative, whose job it is to fulfill the wishes of the testator -- the person who makes the will. It takes special skills to be an executor due to many legal and...
The Williams Group conducted a 20-year study of high wealth families to review the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next. The study found 70 percent of families lost their wealth by the second generation and 90 percent by the third. Surprisingly, the...
Being named the trustee of a loved one's estate is an enormous responsibility and an incredible honor. When asked, you were happy to oblige, agreeing to follow their wishes without hesitation. You signed on the dotted line and felt a sense of pride, because you knew...
