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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

WSJ Article on Estate Planning in Dire Times

Posted on October 21, 2008
Click here to read a fascinating article on estate planning and why now is the time to do it. It was a dark and stormy night... (oh, that's Snoopy, read the wiki on it here.)The economy is a mess, home...

Have a question? Have a new matter?

Posted on October 09, 2008
Have a question? Have a new matter? Want to schedule a consultation? Email us with your inquiry! We are always happy to assist when we can.

Save the Date Cards.

Posted on October 09, 2008
Funny how save the date cards have become prevalent these days. Save the date, we are getting married! Save the date, it's a party! Save the date, etcetera etcetera. Yesterday at a presentation for the Lakewood Chamber Women in Business...

FDIC Insurance Limits Raised

Posted on October 08, 2008
Effective October 3 through December 31, 2009, President Bush signed a law raising the FDIC depositor insurance coverage limit to $250,000 per account subject to rules and upward adjustments. See this link from the FDIC for more information. As always,...

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Can You Witness a Will and Still Take?

Posted on September 27, 2008
Can an interested party be a witness to a will? In other words, the will leaves you something and you are one of the witnesses subscribed to the will. Is the gift in the will to you invalid? It depends....

Notary Issues: (1) Name Changes and (2) Not Driving?

Posted on September 26, 2008
Name Changes.If you recently changed your name and own real property, please consider doing a quitclaim deed from your old name to your new name while you still have identification for proper notarization. We had a situation come up where...

Same Sex Marriage Primer

Posted on September 25, 2008
Marriage involving a same sex couple is now legal in California. There have been many questions as to how this is handled. Please click here to open up a question and answer sheet prepared by a coalition of agencies interested...

How Long Should Probate Remain Open?

Posted on September 22, 2008
Speaking of probates, an estate should be opened for no longer than one year or 18-months without filing a petition to close or a status report. If you are a beneficiary to a probate estate opened longer than this time...

What If Your Bank Fails?

Posted on September 19, 2008
On everyone's mind these days... check out Liz Pulliam Weston's webarticle on this very timely topic. She has excellent information and things to ponder. Click here for more information. On a related topic, with regards to living trusts, make sure...

What Do We Do?

Posted on September 02, 2008
Attorney E.J. Hong from Palo Alto, California provided a succinct answer to what we do as individual attorneys: "I'm an estate planning attorney, I do wills, trusts and probate law." E.J. also provided this additional commentary as to what estate...

September Monthly Update

Posted on September 02, 2008
Check our August Update for information about our upcoming Law Day and Open House event on September 18 and our new office at the beautiful World Trade Center. Need Legal Advice? You are welcome to contact Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle...

Questions to Ask Your Attorney Before You Hire Him or Her for Your Estate Plan

Posted on August 28, 2008
The local Long Beach legal newspaper, The Reporter, published an interesting article called, "The 6 Questions You Must Ask the Attorney Before You Spend a Dollar on Estate Planning." While we don't want to copy the article verbatim, this post...

Even Estate Planning Attorneys Have An Estate Plan

Posted on August 27, 2008
One of the key mantras in life is to do for yourself what you advise others to do. So, if you meet with a financial advisor with young kids who is pushing an education (Coverdell) IRA, 529 savings plan or...

Basic Advice: Set Up a Living Trust

Posted on August 19, 2008
Suze Orman, from O (Oprah) Magazine, strongly advises her readers to set up living trusts. Here is what she has to say: In What to Do When a Family Members Abuses an Inheritance in this month's O Magazine and featured...

Monthly Firm Update

Posted on August 18, 2008
Need Legal Advice? You are welcome to contact Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle regarding your specific situation for legal representation in all matters including estate planning, trust administration, probate and related litigation. Email inquires always welcome -- Jennifer Sawday or Monica...

Estate Taxes

Posted on July 29, 2008
Most people don't realize that we have two systems of taxation. One taxes income as it's earned; the other taxes wealth as it changes hands. During a person's lifetime, we call this transfer tax the gift tax. At his or...

Plain Language Matters Even In Estate Planning

Posted on July 21, 2008
Plain language? Is that even possible? And with drafting wills and trusts? Read on... One thing that good lawyers try to do is use plain language in their writings that can be understood by the opposing party, the court and...

Is Your Money Safe?

Posted on July 15, 2008
We have had lots of questions from clients in the last few days regarding the status on the federal takeover and failure of IndyMac Bank. Our strong advice is to be sure to break up your accounts into increments of...

Don't Leave A Mess for your Loved Ones

Posted on July 03, 2008
Upon your death, your loved ones will be grieving your loss. Don't make the process more difficult by failing to properly plan for your death. Here are some things to avoid in order to ensure your final wishes are met...

From Delia: Helping Debtors Become Savers

Posted on June 29, 2008
From time to time, Delia Fernandez will author a guest post on our blog. [Disclosure: There is no express or implied relationship or financial ties between Delia's practice and Tredway, Lumsdaine & Doyle, LLP.] With the cost of living going...

What do you do when someone dies?

Posted on June 26, 2008
When a family member dies, there's work to do. But thinking through what tasks must be done, by whom and when, can be all but impossible. Keep this guide handy. More of us are facing these tasks as our parents...

Remarriage means revising your estate plans

Posted on June 23, 2008
Money is the No. 1 cause of divorce, and your divorce probably cost you a lot more than you thought it would. You want this new marriage to last as long as you promised in your vows, so you need...

Your Quickie Reference Guide to Estate Planning

Posted on June 19, 2008
Even though most estates won't owe Uncle Sam, estate planning is essential for protecting you and your loved ones. Most important? Providing for minor children. Your will should name both a guardian and a financial trustee for your kids in...

It's a Tough Job But Someone Has To Do It

Posted on June 09, 2008
Think twice if you're asked to handle a friend or relative's estate. It can difficult with lots of paperwork, feuds and lawsuits. You may think you're just being asked to handle the details of an estate or trust after this...

Estate Planning for Same-Sex Couples

Posted on June 06, 2008
For now it appears same-sex marriage is legal in California. However, same-sex couples need to keep in mind that even though domestic partnerships or civil unions are recognized by some states -- California, Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, Maine and Hawaii...

When You Become 18

Posted on May 17, 2008
A few things, well, make that a lot of things, happen once someone turns age 18. The State Bar of California has a publication free for downloading called: "When You Become 18: A Survival Guide For Teenagers." Click here for...

Forming an LLC for Rental Properties

Posted on May 16, 2008
It is worth repeating... Forming an LLC is a good business and personal practice if you own rental property. It can be also be incorporated into your estate plan. A good estate planning attorney will address this aspect as they...

Deathbed Signings.

Posted on May 08, 2008
Our firm attorneys routinely make visits to where the client is located to execute their estate planning documents. We bring a notary to notarize the documents and to act as a witness during these signings. We prefer not to make...

Caregiving and the Case for Testamentary Freedom

Posted on May 06, 2008
Joshua C. Tate, Assistant Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University - Dedman School of Law; University of Pennsylvania Law School, has written another informative article. This time he writes about "Caregiving and the Case for Testamentary Freedom...

Living Trusts Are Revocable And Not An Asset Protection Tool

Posted on April 29, 2008
It comes up all the time. A call comes in from a potential client: "I need to set up a living trust now to protect my assets. " Generally, if the person (called the settlor) who created the living trust...

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