In 2010, the Federal Estate Tax was repealed. Then, it was brought back on December 17th of the same year. Confused? Join the club. The executor of an estate for…
Read More
Location, I am told, is a huge factor in determining the value of real estate. Turns out, location can play a big factor in your estate tax bill as well….
…Unless someone other than you knows that it exists. I constantly remind my clients to keep their estate planning documents in a safe place, but not too safe. Specifically, your…
Asset Protection Nearly all of my clients are interested in “asset protection” in some form or the other. In particular, they are concerned about protecting their home from creditors. Currently, the homestead exemption in California is…
Many years ago, my high school English instructor liked to remind the class of the old saying, “If it was not for the last second rush, nothing would ever get…
At the end of the day, a key goal of any estate plan is to make sure that the client’s estate is distributed to the persons that they intended. Most of the time, those persons are their children and their grandchildren. However, in the absence of an irrevocable credit shelter trust that is established at the death of one spouse, the survivor would be able to amend the entire trust and, at their death, leave it to anyone. This includes leaving the estate to a new and sometimes significantly younger spouse!
Ever since the Terri Schiavo case, the public has become increasingly aware of the need for advance health care directives. In fact, it’s one of the first topics that many of my clients raise during our first meeting about drafting their estate plan. Most do not want to be placed on life support when they are in a persistent vegetative state and the advance health care directive is typically designed to prevent just that scenario. However, what good is the document if nobody knows that it exists?
