Scientists are studying how caregivers deal with people who have dementia, focusing on what they can do rather than what they’ve lost. A study by a speech professor at Ohio State University, who is studying communication with dementia patients, showed that making memory flashcards helps Alzheimer patients remember. A caregiver…
As we draw closer to the end of the year, Congress is working to resolve the issue of tax cuts and the federal estate tax exemption. Within the last few days, President Obama announced that the administration and the Republicans had arrived at a proposal for a bipartisan agreement that…
Our San Diego probate court hears litigation arising out of probate and trust disputes but nothing like the billions of dollars which are at stake in a probate court dispute over comic book characters. You’ve no doubt heard of such comic book icons are Iron-Man, X-Man, Spider Man, the Incredible…
There are a number of legislative proposals affecting probate and trust law suggested by the California State Bar for possible introduction in the California legislature next year. One proposal is to broaden who has the right to control the disposition of remains. This proposal would add the conservator of the…
If you are a client of a lawyer who dies, what happens to your file and the money that you may have in the attorney’s client trust account? Many attorneys keep their client’s original estate planning documents in their fireproof safe at their office. Maybe you are in the middle…
A previous post mentioned that this is the year for billionaires to die without their estate being responsible for any estate taxes. One of this country’s billionaires is Donald Bren of the Irvine Company in California. Estate taxes were far from his mind when this week in Orange county, a…
Remember when hotel magnate Leona Helmsley left $12 million to her dog Trouble? It’s happened again! The late Miami heiress Gail Posner who recently died in Miami left $3 million to her dog Conchita and 2 other dogs who will live in her 7 bedroom $8.3 million mansion cared for…
Recently Warren Buffett and Bill Gates decided to begin a philanthropic campaign called the Giving Pledge Campaign. Buffet and Gates have each pledged to give half of their wealth to charity and have contacted a number of other billionaires world wide to make a similar pledge. It is reported that…
We are always learning from celebrities what not to do in estate planning. Business succession planning is so important for individuals who own a business and want that business to continue to operate after their death. Business succession planning can involve important issues such as who will have control of…
For those following the federal estate tax controversy, last month three senators introduced the Responsible Estate Tax Act which if passed will return the federal estate tax exemption to the 2009 $3.5 million level. The current state of the law is that during this year, there is no estate tax…