When someone has changed a will or trust just a few years before they pass away, this can lead to an accusation that someone has used a position of confidence or authority in order to take unfair advantage. Undue influence is the legal term used to describe this situation. Undue influence often arises with a husband and wife who have been married for several decades, built a family, own a […]
Read MoreOne year after Prince’s death on April 21, 2016, the fate of his estate remains up in the air, and according to a recent article in the New York Times, the six likely heirs to the pop icon’s vast fortune are fighting. At issue are legal fees and the question how much discretion the estate’s administrator should have in managing the estate. But the disputes — as well as a […]
Read MoreWhen somebody dies with an estate plan and a last will in place, the deceased person’s assets usually pass to the heirs smoothly and swiftly. But every once in a while things go awry, and the courts get involved. So it happened with a case that the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles filed in November, Estate of Dayan. The case hinged on a no-contest clause in the […]
Read MoreThe question seems trivial but it’s still an important one to ask: Once you’ve created an estate plan with a living trust, advance medical directives and power-of-attorney for health care and finances, where should you store the documents? In your home? At the bank? Well, your estate planning documents have no street value. This means that you don’t need to worry about theft and that a safe deposit box at […]
Read MoreYou know the form that every doctor and hospital has you sign as soon as you’ve walked through the door? The HIPAA notice that ensures that your health care provider will keep information about your health history, treatment and medical status private? Well, if you create an estate plan with me I will actually have you sign another paper, the HIPAA and CMIA waiver, that overrides your original signature. Why? […]
Read MoreSam is young and in love. He marries and has children, but eventually the marriage fails. He ends up in a second marriage with Trina, who already has two children of her own. After Sam’s death, the children from his first marriage learn that their father’s estate will pass to their stepmother and then to her children. What went wrong? The short answer is that Sam failed to protect the […]
Read MoreLet’s start with a hypothetical scenario: 2014 was a good year for you, and with gas prices dropping ever lower you’ve decided to replace your energy efficient hybrid car with another, more luxurious model. Your only grandson, who is paying off college debt, drives a gas guzzling SUV. To help him save money you give him the hybrid, a 2011 model which the Kelley Blue Book values at $16,000. Next […]
Read MoreIf you’ve been following my blog you probably know that many of the estate planning posts assume that a person’s heirs are his or her children. So what about childless couples, you may have been asking yourself, do they need a plan too? The answer is yes. At the very least, they should answer two questions: Who will inherit their property, and who should handle their affairs if they become […]
Read MoreAmericans are givers, and increasingly so; according to Giving USA 2014, corporations, foundations and individuals donated more than $330 billion in 2013. Adjusted for inflation, that is 3 percent up from 2012 and a 12 percent increase over 2009, the year the recession officially ended. More than 70 cents out of every dollar donated came from individuals, i.e. from people like you and me. Religious and educational charities benefitted most. […]
Read MoreAbout five percent of school-aged children in the United States live with a disability. Their diagnoses include vision, hearing and orthopedic impairments as well as serious emotional disturbance, autism and specific learning disabilities. In many cases these children continue to depend on the multi-pronged support of others into adulthood. If you have a son or daughter with a disability you may be wondering how you can help him or her stay […]
Read MoreWhat’s the difference between a revocable and an irrevocable trust? As an attorney, I often hear this question, usually with the person who’s asking adding something along the lines of: I know what the words mean, but what are the implications for each? Simply put, what distinguishes the two is how much control you retain over your assets. But then, once you reach a certain level of wealth, things get […]
Read MoreDid you come up with the logo, symbol or slogan for your company? Do you create computer code or designs dwellings? Are you an inventor, a choreographer or a writer? If so, you are probably aware that you own intellectual property and that you can protect your rights to its exclusive use by registering it with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. So far, so good. But here’s my […]
Read MoreOnly one day after the unexpected death of Robin Williams last week, the celebrity news website TMZ reported on details of a trust that the actor apparently had created in 2009. Representatives for Williams’ estate later clarified that the documents are no longer valid. But the purported content of that plan highlights some options for passing on wealth to the next generation. TMZ wrote that Williams had stipulated that the […]
Read MoreDo you know which two topics Americans find hardest to talk about? It’s money and death. A recent survey from Wells Fargo revealed that 44 percent of sampled adults ranked personal finances as the most difficult topic to discuss with others. Almost as many, 38 percent, named death first. Discussions around politics, religion, taxes and personal health all ranked as easier. In estate planning, our reluctance to talk about money […]
Read MoreIn California, minors cannot own property above $5,000 outright until they are 18 years old. The rule makes sense, of course: Teenagers are rarely mature enough to manage large sums of money wisely. The question is, how does this law affect your estate plan? What will happen to the assets you leave to your child if he or she is still a minor when you die? The answer is surprisingly […]
Read MoreWhen did you last revisit your estate plan? Never? Years ago? There are at least two reasons why you might want to think about taking a new look at your documents: your life may have changed significantly, and new tax or trust laws could have affected your estate plan without you even realizing it. Events that should prompt you to amend your documents obviously include a change in your marital […]
Read MoreWhen our son was born one of my and my wife’s first priorities was to make sure he would still be in good hands if something happened to us. What were the chances that both of us would be unable to take care of him? It didn’t matter. As a lawyer I knew what our options were: we could appoint a guardian for our son via our estate plan, or […]
Read MoreI don’t generally follow the lives and scandals of celebrities. But when the death of a prominent personality sets off estate planning debates I’m all ear. Such was the case when actor Paul Walker died last November (see my blog post here) and again when the Los Angeles Times recently published an article about the tax debt for the estate of Michael Jackson. Some background information: after Jackson’s death in June […]
Read MoreWhen the Supreme Court struck down part of the Defense of Marriage Act, also known as DOMA, as unconstitutional last June, the world of federal rights, protections and benefits fundamentally changed for married same-sex couples. From Social Security and visiting rights to consumer and housing benefits, all areas of life have been affected. Estate planning is no exception. It was, in fact, at the heart of the case that initiated […]
Read MoreAfter Paul Walker died in a car crash last November two questions went viral on the web: What will happen to Fast & Furious 7, the film the action movie hero was last working on, and who will inherit the 40-year-old’s fortune of $45 million? Walker, it seems, did not have an estate plan, meaning things between his loved ones might get contentious. Whatever the outcome in Walker’s case may […]
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