A woman recently sent a message to a financial advice column detailing a situation involving a home owned by her mother. The woman is in line to inherit the home from her mother. The point of contention is a stipulation that the mother's boyfriend can also live in the...
Estate Planning
How to create a stronger estate plan
Ideally, you will take time to create an estate plan that provides for your needs now and after you pass. If you fail to make a will or trust, California law may distribute assets to your spouse or child by default. In addition to a will or trust, it may be a good...
What happens to your will after you pass
If you lived in or owned property in California, your estate may be subject to its probate laws when you pass. Your estate representative is responsible for presenting your will to a judge so that a probate proceeding can begin. Generally speaking, the case is handled...
Why estate planning is important for all stages of life
While estate planning is typically seen as a task for older individuals, California residents at any stage of adulthood can benefit from getting their affairs in order. Without a will, the person's estate will be divided up by the court in the case of their death....
The business side of estate planning
Few people wish to think about their eventual passing. However, concerns about how death affects family members lead some business owners to take part in estate planning. Entrepreneurs in California often realize that the commercial aspects of their estates add...
Why estate planning may be important for you
Physicians and other professionals in California may want to consider creating an estate plan that they review and modify over the years as there are changes in their families, their assets and the law. There are two elements to estate planning. One is about planning...
How business owners can help their successors
In California, there are plenty of measures that business owners can take to protect their businesses and their eventual successors. For starters, business owners may be able to minimize taxes by setting up a trust fund, such as a grantor retained annuity trust or...
Estate planning for asset protection in California residents
Estate planning is important for California residents who have assets that can be transferred to beneficiaries. The process involves more than planning what will happen with assets and the beneficiaries; estate planning is also for protecting assets from future...
Estate planning 101: the executor, representing your voice
Some people have little to no assets, so they do not go through the estate planning process. Most people in California do have assets, though. It may only be their home, some savings or art, but nonetheless, they are assets. If you do not make plans for your estate,...
Can your estate plan make the probate process easier?
After you pass away, your loved ones will have to face many different challenges. The probate process can prolong these challenges, and this court-supervised division of property can take more than a year in some cases. However, careful estate planning can help make...
