A Holiday-Season Guide to Understanding Estate and Inheritance Death Taxes As the holiday season arrives, families travel, gather around busy tables, and spend more time thinking about the people they love. This time of year also brings a noticeable rise in deaths nationwide. As sad as that is, medical researchers consistently note a winter “uptick” […]
Category Archives: California Law
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Jun
Jun
Disinheriting a Spouse in California: What You Need to Know About Inheritance Laws When forming an estate plan, many people assume they maintain complete control over asset distribution after death. While this is generally true when it comes to children, siblings, and extended family, California inheritance law limits a person’s ability to disinherit a spouse. […]
02
May
May
An Outdated Law That Still Disrupts Estate Planning Some laws seem so outdated they feel like trivia—such as the ban on tying a giraffe to a telephone pole or wearing a fake mustache in church. But not all outdated laws are harmless or forgotten. Dower rights, which date back to English common law, still actively […]
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Aug
Aug
A power of attorney addresses who can act on your behalf for financial and medical matters. In some cases, a power of attorney takes effect only if you are unable to manage your affairs; at other times, it can take effect immediately. A power of attorney can be general and grant another person broad authority to handle your affairs for you, or it can describe only those specific matters you want another person to handle on your behalf.
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Feb
Feb
In other cases, an estate’s liquid assets are not valuable enough to cover the outstanding debt claim. People lose valuable inheritable property and must sell it to cover creditor claims in probate court. A creditor forcing this type of sale extends probate proceedings. This leads to additional costs. Secured creditors receive priority over unsecured creditors. The primary secured creditor is often a bank.
26
Jan
Jan
Most people report that managing paperwork relative to the probate process can be a monumental undertaking. This is due to structured timelines and court-imposed deadlines.
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Jan
Jan
When someone is unable to manage his or her own affairs – often due to illness or older age – family members may seek court intervention to appoint a conservator or guardian. The court-appointed individual makes financial decisions on behalf of the incapacitated person. The same person (or sometimes someone different, also appointed by the court) takes over control of everyday matters, including medical decisions. These living probate proceedings are public, time-consuming, and expensive.
Assets, California Law, Celebrity Estates, Estate Administration, Estate Planning, Trusts
Celebrity Trust: Elvis Presley
02
Jun
Jun
Born in 1968 to Elvis and Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie followed in the footsteps of her father as far as heart trouble. While her father died from a heart attack at the age of 42, she died due to heart problems nearly 46 years later, in January 2023.
03
Mar
Mar
Although starting a business is a significant achievement, small business owners cannot coast on past accomplishments. You must look to the future and plan next steps.
17
Feb
Feb
Aaron Carter failed to achieve the stardom of his older brother Nick. Nevertheless, he succeeded as a performer in his own right. He opened for the Backstreet Boys at age nine.