There are several key moments in your life when you should consider updating your estate plan in addition to regular and routine reviews. It is beneficial for estate planners to know when those times are and when they should consider taking a second or third look at...
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California Estate Planning Blog
Selling a home as a successor trustee
A successor trustee in California has many responsibilities. A successor trustee is someone who steps into the role of the grantor, who is the person who established a trust after that person passes away. One of the biggest actions you may need to take as a successor...
What do trustees need to do to administer the trust?
Having a trust can provide some advantages over a will. Trusts can alleviate some of the tax burdens that fall on larger estates. One of the main reasons and advantages of having a trust is that the property can be passed on without having to go through probate. While...
Is there any way my estate can avoid the probate process?
You may find the concept of probate to be confusing. You may even ask, “You mean my property does not just go straight to my heirs, as my will instructs?” Unfortunately, probate involves a lot more than simply distributing assets to heirs. Creditors and taxes need to...
Have you saved enough for retirement?
With record numbers of baby boomers retiring every year, there is a lot of angst over how people are doing it, whether they’ve saved enough, or if they are picking the wrong time to retire. According to a 2019 survey, more than half of respondents cited a fear of...
What are the pros and cons of a California 529?
As parents get ready to send their children off to college, they are usually at the apex of careful financial planning that began in the nursery. While there are many ways to save for college, whether through a trust, IRA, or other investment tool, many people in...
Why it is important to have an advanced health care directive
When people in California think about estate planning, they may think about wills. These are very important documents for people to have as they plan for their passing. Wills state who will receive their property after they pass away, and this is often the main focus...
Power of attorney and incapacity planning
Much like no one wants to think about their demise, it is not pleasant to consider the possibility of incapacitation. While this might be a greater concern for the aging population in California and elsewhere, the reality is that anyone could be incapacitated in the...
Increasingly, younger people are creating estate plans
In the past, Californians and people throughout the United States might have been under the impression that creating an estate plan was something that could wait until they were older and more established. The lack of urgency often resulted in confusion as to how a...
Five reasons why you shouldn’t create your own estate plan
A lot of people consider estate planning to be pretty low on their list of priorities. And when they finally do get around to creating the documents that they need to protect their assets and their loved ones, they sometimes try to cut corners to save time and money....