California is poised to join the majority of its sister states in adopting a uniform law designed to promote interstate cooperation on the subject of adult conservatorship proceedings. In May, the California Senate passed SB-940, a bill that would enact the Adult Guardianship and Protective Proceedings Jurisdiction Act, a model…
Many people use their estate plan to “leave a legacy.” A common example of this is making a gift to a charitable organization as part of a last will and testament. A person might, for instance, leave a gift to a university with instructions to establish a scholarship in his…
Bernard Madoff ran one of the largest Ponzi schemes in history. Madoff ran his own brokerage firm for nearly 50 years, claiming unusually high returns on investments. In reality, Madoff’s company stopped trading in stocks in the early 1990s. Instead, he simply used money provided by new clients to pay…
In preparing a last will and testament, you need to be conscious of the location of any property you own. In the United States, wills and estates are handled on a state-by-state basis. If, for instance, you live in California but own a second home in Arizona, your will must…
The Washington Post reported recently the Internal Revenue Service has “intercepted” hundreds of tax refunds to repay decades-old debts. What is disturbing is that these are not debts owed by the taxpayers, but by their long-deceased parents. The IRS claims that in the past, families of deceased Social Security beneficiaries…
In the Internet age, your estate no longer includes just physical property but digital assets like social media accounts, cloud storage and even computer-based currency. Taking stock of your digital assets is therefore an essential part of California estate planning. Here are a few issues to consider with respect to…
Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman died on February 2, 2014. His last will and testament was recently filed in a New York City probate court. Curiously, the will directed Hoffman’s executor to distribute his estate according to the provisions of New York intestacy law, which normally applies to estates…
Estate planning is about providing for the future. Sometimes, it’s about providing for a very distant future. For example, the famous actor and singer Bing Crosby died nearly 40 years ago, yet a California appeals court just recently issued a decision regarding property that still belongs to his estate. Even…
Marriage may be sacred, but under California law, one spouse cannot take advantage of the other when it comes to estate planning. Spouses have a fiduciary duty to one another, and when one party exerts undue influence over the other, the courts may intervene. Recently, a California appeals court upheld…
How does a prenuptial agreement affect your estate planning? A prenuptial agreement is a contract between intended spouses designed to settle any property disputes that may arise following divorce or the death of one spouse. In many cases, a prenuptial agreement may override state laws providing for certain spousal rights…