Where should you keep estate-planning documents prepared by your attorney? Where should people expect to find your living trust, will, durable power of attorney and advance health care directive? You want to be sure that those documents stay safe and can be easily found when your family needs to find them. For those of you more »
You may be willing to trust your teenage grandchildren to house sit for you while you’re away for the weekend, but would you trust them to properly manage your entire bank account after you die? Paris and Nicky Hilton, heiresses to the Hilton Hotel fortune, are notorious for their party-girl ways. DUI charges and driving more »
One of my clients is an avid stamp collector. He has decided that upon his death, his modest collection will go to his granddaughter who grew up learning about and loving his hobby during their summers together. Individuals pass more to their heirs than just real estate and money – a significant portion of wealth more »
The law is full of old rituals that today we would consider ridiculous. For example, in early Bavaria, to convey real property by sale, by gift, or by will, one had to box the ears of young boys to seal the deal. The idea was that by creating a memory of pain in the child, more »
It is estimated that by the year 2020, 12 million elderly Americans will be in need of long-term care. Many of them will have to rely on their adult children as caregivers. This imposes a heavy emotional and financial burden, even on happy and willing caregivers, and financial assistance for long-term care is sparse. Medicare more »
News of MetLife jumping ship on the long-term care insurance market has left people panicking or shrugging their shoulders.Either the fear is growing over how to handle future costs of long-term care, or people are continuing to deny that they’ll ever need it. This week, we’re looking at some of the realities of long-term care more »
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 the durable power of attorney can act under any of the powers in more »
Remember when grandma asked you to visit? Some grandchildren in Austria didn’t and Grandma went to extraordinary lengths to keep her family from getting her money. She shredded over $1 million USD right before she died. Not happy to stop at that, she cut up her bank books. According to Forbes, the shredded bits were more »
In my experience as an Orange County Probate Lawyer, the vast majority of estates are settled without difficulty. Still about twenty percent of all estates have some type of conflict. These estate conflicts are expensive and directly impact the amount of estate assets, including cash, that pass on to the heirs. Just having an up-to-date more »
Up until last month, Whittier, California was best known for being the hometown of Richard Nixon — and me. It looks like this honor will now pass to Nadya Suleman’s octuplets and her six other kids. I’m still waiting by the phone for Nadya to call me for some estate planning advice. I assume that more »
After a loved one passes away, the personal representative (fiduciary) on behalf of the estate or trust is responsible for managing the estate and distributing the assets.When the decedent has a valid New York will or trust in place…
Under New York Law, a guardian is a person who has the authority to take care of your minor children if you are unable to as a result of a mental incapacity, illness, disability or you pass away. The legal guardian has the same authority and powers as a parent…
