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Estate Planning

Estate Planning Practice Blog

A compendium of matters involving estate planning and probate in California
By Jennifer Sawday, Monica Goel

Post Frequency: 0.3/day

Last Entry: August 27, 2009 at 15:59:10

New & Redesigned Blog Coming Up!

Posted on August 27, 2009
Since our last post was about Michael Jackson's death in June, it may seem that his passing has caused the lack of posts since then. But in reality, the blog is being moved to a new domain, new host and...

Celebrities Die Just Like the Rest of Us.

Posted on June 25, 2009
Three very notable celebrities have died. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and now Michael Jackson. Each had families. Each had loved ones. Each had assets. And each had potential contestants to their estate. Did each have an estate plan in place...

Is It Worth It?

Posted on June 10, 2009
Is it worth it to hire an attorney to draw up a will, trust or other estate planning documents? Kiplinger.com on personal finance and business says it is worth it. They posted a fun 10 question quiz about is it...

Standard of Care: Quick Analysis for Estate Planning Attorneys

Posted on June 01, 2009
Estate planning attorneys must always be cognizant of issues surrounding capacity and incapacity of their cilents when preparing and executing estate plans at their client's direction. Here are some recent thoughts about standard of care required by an estate planning...

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A Day In Conservatorship Court

Posted on May 06, 2009
Probate courts typically hear certain types of matters on certain days. This is true for especially larger courts that serve a larger population. Take for example, Orange County Superior Court's probate department located at the Betty Lou Lamoreaux Justice Center...

Your Children and Their Inheirtance.

Posted on May 05, 2009
When you set up a living trust -- you will be faced with some choices on how to handle or set up your children's potential future inheritance. (I say potential because you could die broke.) This is where a good...

A Few Probate Q&As

Posted on May 01, 2009
We handle probate cases as a routine part of our practice. Probate for an experienced attorney with no issues (meaning no contests or uncooperative beneficiaries) is very straightforward. That said, the act of opening probate and probate an estate is...

Alone? How about some EP documents as preventative medicine?

Posted on April 15, 2009
I made a court appearance regarding a conservatorship matter earlier this week. We represent a conservator who is a friend of the conservatee. What happened to the conservatee -- she's a nice lady in her late 60s and lives alone....

Trust Admin Process in a Nutshell.

Posted on March 26, 2009
The Trust Administration process after the settlor or settlors have died is usually thought of in four phases. This is assuming that for a single person trust that the person who created the Trust, the settlor, has died. This is...

Tax Season -- Great Reminder to Consult with Professionals.

Posted on March 20, 2009
Tax season has fully descended upon all Americans. (Also, Girl Scout cookies as well. Girl Scout cookies are much more palatable!) I received a complimentary copy of Roni Lynn Deutch's book, The Tax Lady's Guide to Beating the IRS and...

Filing Fees Continue to Increase.

Posted on March 18, 2009
Filing fees for the Superior Court of Los Angeles County went up for 2009. You don't always realize how much court fees are until you have to ask your client to pay them. Sometimes the fee are cost-prohibitive and that...

Television Show ER's Last Season: Organ Donation In Prime Time

Posted on March 13, 2009
The television show ER is in its final season. All of the former stars and characters are coming back. Remember Dr. Benton? Or how about Dr. Ross? Last night's episode focused partially on organ donation. It was a poignant reminder...

Kids and Estate Plans. No Excuses.

Posted on March 11, 2009
I am constantly amazed at how many parents do not have an estate plan in place to protect their minor children. It's one thing not to be overly concerned when your children are older, but if you have minor children...

Joe Lumsdaine, Superlawyers 2009 & Lawyer of the Year

Posted on February 04, 2009
Dear Readers,Our lead attorney for the probate, probate litigation and trust litigation team, Joseph A. Lumsdaine, was recently honored as both a Superlawyer 2009 by Southern California Lawyers and as Lawyer of the Year by the Southeast District Bar Association...

Immortal Fame: Publicity Rights, Taxation, and the Power of Testation

Posted on February 03, 2009
Joshua C. Tate, Assistant Professor, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law, has written numerous scholarly articles involving the area of estate planning and related matters. We are fortunate to receive notification when he has released new articles...

Great Analogy About Eating Delicacies and Your Estate Plan.

Posted on January 30, 2009
A Friday funny, perhaps? This topic was circulating on one of my email groups for solo and small firm attorneys. It's a great point being made about going to someone who has the proper credentials (i.e., an attorney) and has...

Can You Afford Breakfast?

Posted on January 23, 2009
Then you can afford an extra measure of asset protection via your regular fire insurance policy on your home. Most of us call it homeowner's insurance policy, but the agents call it fire insurance. In any event, I made a...

Thoughts on Durable Powers of Attorney.

Posted on January 16, 2009
Typically a durable power of attorney can become effective in two ways.First, it can be effective immediately upon execution.Or, second, it can be made effective upon incapacity of the principal. If it is effective immediately, then the agents named in...

That Little Umbrella Insurance Policy Isn't So Little.

Posted on January 09, 2009
Here's an idea for you for the New Year. Check to see if you have an umbrella liability insurance policy. And if you don't have one, get one!It's been said over and over again, but you cannot have too much...

Medical Decision Making.

Posted on January 08, 2009
The most common document prepared by California attorneys for estate planning as it relates to medical decision making is the Advance Health Care Directive. There are also two other documents that involve medical decision making. One is called the Living...

Back to Basics.

Posted on January 07, 2009
I was talking to a well respected CPA who handles large estates (meaning large enough to have to file a federal estate tax return, which as of this year 2009 means an estate with a value of more than $3.5...

Scam Involving a Minor Fender Bender and Elderly Adults

Posted on December 18, 2008
Our local internet news source, LongBeachReport.com, (at www.lbreport.com) has posted a very interesting scam today involving our elders and minor traffic accidents. LongBeachReport warns of recent incidents involving a very minor bump to the rear bumper of an elderly driver...

Visiting With Elderly Loved Ones.

Posted on December 10, 2008
The holidays are a time when people get together. Sometimes people don't visit with their elderly loved ones as regularly as they would like to, but during the holiday season everyone always makes time to visit and spend time with...

Nominating a Guardian At the Last Minute.

Posted on December 09, 2008
What does that mean? Nominating a guardian at the last minute? Today, I visited a client at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center to execute a Will. She was concerned about having the right person nominated as guardian for her two teenage children....

End of the Year Gifts.

Posted on December 05, 2008
One of the best gifts to give your family is a well executed estate plan. This means having the right documents in place for your situation. Transferring your assets to your trust if you set one up and then making...

Yes, We Do Probate.

Posted on December 04, 2008
It is almost a given that when an attorney says he or she does estate planning and trust administration that their practice also includes probate. Probate is the court process of determining title of assets belonging to a decedent who...

Your Trust and Its Schedule A.

Posted on November 21, 2008
Does your living trust have a Schedule A attached to it? If your answer is No, do not past go and contact your estate planning attorney now to prepare a Schedule A.If your answer is Yes, stop and review the...

Knowing Your Estate Planning Attorney

Posted on November 19, 2008
Last week I made a home visit to a long time client. Her husband recently passed. They always had trouble traveling to our office. And I always made a point to schedule home visits with her and her husband regarding...

Trustees for Blended Families.

Posted on November 08, 2008
Estate planning is a must for blended families. Families where there are children from a prior marriage or a relationship need estate planning to make the parents' wishes known and protect all of the children involved accordingly. A three-way marital...

Elder Care Resources and Geriatric Care Managers.

Posted on October 23, 2008
Last week, the local Long Beach paper featured a local Long Beach based website and company focused on providing resources for elder care called AgingPro.com. The person behind the website was selected by Oprah's magazine to participate in a Women...

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