Recent Articles
The Lights Are On, But is Anyone Home?
I often get calls from individuals who request an immediate appointment for an elderly loved one or friend who is mentally slipping away because of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. They want to help the elderly person complete or make changes to his or her estate plan before it’s too late. I always feel sad… Read More »
Unnatural Bequests
Most of us have relatives, some of whom we are fond of and some we might not love or even like. Regardless of the true character of the relationship, most people believe that their close relatives should leave them something when the relative passes away. In fact, the law presumes that most people want… Read More »
Penny-Wise and Pound Foolish About Estate Planning
Most of us have heard the term “penny-wise and pound-foolish”, an idiom with British roots. A penny is a small amount of money and a (British) pound is a much larger amount of money. “Penny-wise, pound-foolish” is to be cautious (wise) with small amounts of money but wasteful (foolish) with larger amounts or, another… Read More »
Bank Account Safety
The FDIC (Federal Insurance Deposit Corporation) protects depositors against the loss of their insured deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. Several years ago IndyMac Bancorp Inc., a Pasadena-based mortgage lender, failed and was taken over by federal regulators. At that time account holders risked losing all of the money held by… Read More »
Living With Mama
Many parents have an adult child living with them. Sometimes it is for the benefit of the parents — a child can be a wonderful caregiver and provide much needed financial assistance. Oftentimes, however, the adult child is living with the parent because either he or she never left home in the first place… Read More »
Sweet Peace
“Thank you for helping me with my estate plan. You have taken a load off my mind. I slept like a baby last night.” This is an actual quote from a “thank you” card I received from one of my clients after we had completed his estate plan. These sentiments are typical of what… Read More »
A Windfall for the “Deadbeat Dad”
I have previously written articles concerning the laws of intestate succession – California’s default plan for inheritance where one passes away without having made plans for distribution of real or personal property. An important factor which goes into a determination of who may inherit involves an inquiry into the parent-child relationship. Generally, a parent-child… Read More »
The Value of “Legalese”
There are many unusual words or phrases in our language that we see or use without pausing to think about where the word or phrase came from. Some are obvious; others defy an easy answer. Many times my husband hears such a word or phrase and plays a little game trying to figure out… Read More »
The Reluctant Heir
You are probably wondering what a “reluctant heir” is. I had never given any thought to the possible existence of such a person either until I had to deal with an heir that would not receive his inheritance. I know what you are thinking — no one will ever have to refer to you… Read More »
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Joint Tenancy Through a Living Trust
There are serious problems that you could experience when you add someone to your real estate or bank account as a joint tenant. In summary: (1) once you add someone onto your property, you have created a joint owner of the property with an immediate ownership interest in the property. By giving someone immediate… Read More »