A general durable power of attorney is an important estate planning document that grants your agent-the attorney-in-fact-the authority to act on your behalf in any contractual matter. Unless limited by your power of attorney or California law, your attorney-in-fact is you for all legal intents and purposes. Sometimes, however, even…
Disinheriting a child sounds like a harsh act. The word conjures up images of an angry parent taking out a lifetime of disappointment with a child by denying him or her any inheritance. Yet there are many cases where disinheritance is simply based on the testator’s appraisal of his children’s…
Truth is often stranger than fiction when it comes to California probate cases. In May a state appeals court ruled on a particularly strange case involving a contested last will and testament. The case started with the 2004 disappearance of a Berkeley man who was found more than four years…
When it comes to drafting your last will and testament or other California estate planning documents, it’s important you work with an attorney who is not only knowledgeable and experienced, but also someone who is impartial and not looking to benefit financially from your future estate. To that end, the…
A power of attorney is an important estate planning tool that authorizes another person to make decisions for you should you become incapable of making them yourself. A health care power of attorney is a document that specifically applies to decisions regarding your personal care, treatment and maintenance. Health care…
Trusts are a common estate planning device used to shield assets from the probate process. Trusts also enable an individual (or married couple) to provide for the maintenance, education and health of family members by utilizing specific assets for those purposes. When making a trust to provide for family after…
When an adult can no longer manage his or her own affairs, a conservatorship may be necessary. If your California estate planning does not include a general durable power of attorney or advance healthcare directive naming agents to act in the event of your incapacity, a probate court may name…
You may have heard the phrase inheritance tax in reference to estate planning. What is an inheritance tax? As the name suggests, it’s a tax assessed against the share of an estate inherited by an individual. An inheritance tax is separate from an estate tax, which is assessed against the…
If you die without leaving a last will and testament, your estate may be left at the mercy of unscrupulous relatives who will take advantage of the situation. While California law does provide for cases of intestacy–estates where the deceased left no will–relatives without legal knowledge may be unaware of…
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the plight of Marianne Blend, a 78-year-old woman facing the loss of her home due to what the Times called “probate confusion.” Bland’s problems arise from the 2011 death of Fernando Neri, her longtime partner. Bland and Nerri lived together as husband and…