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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

Firm Attorneys Giving Trust Admin Seminar on July 16, 2008

Posted on April 25, 2008
Partner Mark Doyle and Senior Associate Monica Goel are presenting a Trust Administration Procedures Seminar in Long Beach this coming July. Click here for more information. If you are going to administer a trust, want to learn how as a...

New Law Makes It Easy To Cancel Services

Posted on April 24, 2008
California Probate Code Section 217 prohibits businesses, such as the cable company, telephone company and other companies doing business in California from requiring or demanding a person who is handling a decedent's affairs to come to their facility or office...

Putting Bank Accounts in Your Living Trust

Posted on April 18, 2008
After you have established your Living Trust, one of the more important things you will need to do is fund your trust with your assets including bank accounts. This post only deals with bank accounts and not other assets that...

Obligation to Provide for a Minor Child?

Posted on April 17, 2008
Sometimes an interesting question is posed by a client -- do I have to leave something for my minor child in my Will? Remember in most estate planning documents and for most families, a couple with children will typically leave...

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National Healthcare Decision Day

Posted on April 11, 2008
April is the month of special days. The day after April 15, which needs no recognition, is National Healthcare Decision Day. Does this mean that after you sign and seal your tax return, your health takes a turn for the...

April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day

Posted on April 02, 2008
Bob Kraft, an attorney from Texas, has posted great links regarding World Autism Awareness Day. Autism is a topic on the forefront of many parents either as a reality or on their minds as they raise their children. Newsweek also...

Your 18 Year Old Daughter on Spring Break?

Posted on March 19, 2008
A question asked by one attorney to another recently: I have an 18 year old daughter headed to a Spring Break designation with her best friend and her parents. What documents does she need to bring with her to ensure...

Nominating Guardians for Minor Children - The Part You Don't See.

Posted on March 14, 2008
One of the most important things a parent can do is make their nominations for guardians in writing for their minor children in the event something should happen to them. In California, you can nominate a guardian in a variety...

Wrapping Up a Trust.

Posted on March 13, 2008
While trust administration is largely removed from any court oversight and is managed privately by the successor trustee(s), it is a good idea to formally wrap up a trust (any trust including a revocable living trust) where the settlor(s) (or...

To HIPAA or Not?

Posted on February 29, 2008
One of the more important components of a valid and up-to-date Advance Health Care Directive is ensuring that it has provisions allowing your agent to have unfettered access your medical information. Under HIPAA and CMIA (Federal and California laws) medical...

Protecting Triplets!

Posted on February 28, 2008
On a personal note, we take great pleasure and pride in assisting families with their business and estate planning objectives. One of our partners had twins last week and one of our other name partners, Mark Doyle, is representing a...

Estate Planning -- It's No Joke.

Posted on February 16, 2008
One of the things about being an estate planning attorney is that when there is a joke circulating involving our practice, it can be both funny and sobering at the same time. Here is a joke that was sent to...

More on Conservatorships.

Posted on February 14, 2008
A conservatorship is often a poor substitute for estate planning. With a proper estate plan in place including powers of attorneys, assets funded into a trust and so on -- the hassles of a court oversight for a conservatorship can...

Big Time Conservatorship: Britney Spears.

Posted on February 02, 2008
Judge Reva Goetz in Department 9 at Los Angeles Superior Court, Central Courthouse granted a temporary conservatorship over Britney Spears on Friday, February 1, 2008. It is known that a conservatorship naming her father to manage her finances was granted...

Spouses: Make Sure You Have Beneficiaries for Your Accounts.

Posted on January 31, 2008
If you and your spouse keep separate financial accounts and/or retirement accounts (for whatever reason), please make sure you have a beneficiary designated for these accounts. Nearly every financial product, whether it be life insurance, annuity, IRA, brokerage account and...

Initial Probate Filing Fees Changed for 2008.

Posted on January 17, 2008
The filing fee paid directly to the court to open a probate case (e.g., file a petition for probate) has been modified in 2008. The filing fee is based on the value of the estate as it will be inventoried...

Litigating Trusts and Estates Matters

Posted on January 16, 2008
One of the skills that has become invaluable in the estate planning/wills/trusts and probate practice area is the ability to handle a litigation matter when it arises. This is when someone disagrees with how an estate is being handled (either...

But the Only Asset is a House.

Posted on January 15, 2008
A common question in a probate matter ... My mother died and left her home in her name. That's all she had. And she didn't have a Living Trust. What happens when I want to keep the home, but we...

Beneficiary Designations.

Posted on January 14, 2008
Having properly designated beneficiaries is a crucial component of estate planning. Many financial products (for example, life insurance policies, bank accounts, retirement accounts, savings bonds and annuities) allow you to designate a payable on death beneficiary,which, in most instances, will...

Trust Administration After Someone Dies

Posted on January 04, 2008
Living Trusts require administration after the death of a settlor (the person who created the trust). Upon a person's death -- there are many steps that need to be taken in accordance to California laws to properly administer their Living...

Estate Planning & Organization Go Hand in Hand.

Posted on January 03, 2008
Don't you love it when you walk into stores this time of the year and you see stacks upon stacks of clear plastic containers and other paraphernalia for getting your house and life organized for the new year? Whether or...

Two Questions from a Reader.

Posted on January 02, 2008
A reader wrote last year: "Two questions came to mind that maybe your other readers (and perhaps future clients) might be wondering. First, if an unmarried couple holds title to a home in Joint Tenancy, is there really a need...

Don't Disinherit By Accident.

Posted on December 31, 2007
A common mistake in drafting estate planning documents are provisions that disinherit children by accident. Remember what happened to Anna Nicole's daughter Dannielynn? [A fitting way to wrap up the last post of the year... with one of the more...

Year End, New Year's Reminders

Posted on December 27, 2007
While you are organizing and putting away things around the home from the holiday season, don't forget to review your existing estate plan. If you don't have an existing estate plan, 2008 would be a great year to get started....

Elder (Abuse?) Article from New York Times

Posted on December 26, 2007
Posted on Christmas Eve, should elders be less accountable for their investing mistakes? Read here for the article and links previous articles in the series.

Simply What the Client Needs.

Posted on December 21, 2007
Most clients ask for a simple will or trust. They never ask for a complex will or trust. So, of course, most estate planning attorneys do prepare these simple wills and trusts for their clients. They are exactly the estate...

Monical Goel to Present on Estate Planning Issues in December

Posted on November 14, 2007
Our very own Monica Goel, Esq., will be a featured speaker in NBI's upcoming seminar on Estate Planning and Recovery for Elderly Clients this coming December. The seminar will be held at three locations at three dates. For more information,...

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