Vanity Fair recently published a new article, “It is Not a Coincidence: With 75 million on the line, the Redstone Family declares Sumner incompetent.” If you’re unfamiliar, Sumner Redstone is the Hollywood Mogul billionaire at the helm of a media empire that includes CBS and Viacom. For the past several years, Sumner has been at...Read More
Unlike famous singers Aretha Franklin and Prince, who died without a will or trust, rapper Mac Miller planned ahead for his demise. And he did this at the tender age of 21 – perhaps foreseeing his death at just 26 years of age on September 7th of this year. Consequently, his fortune will likely be...Read More
As you likely already know, the great Aretha Franklin, known as the Queen of Soul, passed away on August 16th, 2018 at her home in Detroit, Michigan. Her greatest hits – “Respect”, “A Natural Woman”, “Chain of Fools”, defined her as a modern woman and brought the fervor of gospel music to secular songs. With...Read More
The children of Buzz Aldrin, former astronaut, are trying to obtain guardianship over him in a Florida court – and he’s fighting back. According to the Wall Street Journal, Andrew and Janice Aldrin say their father is in “cognitive decline” and a guardianship is necessary. Aldrin and his attorneys responded with a lawsuit accusing son...Read More
A favorite gimmick of estate planning articles today are based on numbers – “8 things to protect your assets,” “10 Steps to write your will“, “6 Reasons to update your Trust,” etc. My favorite read is “17 Reasons to Update your Will” – thank you San Francisco Symphony! If this wasn’t the exact area of...Read More
The Hollywood Reporter notes that despite Jurassic World’s box office success, the newest installment “has trouble finding something to say beyond what ‘Jurassic Park’ already did 25 years ago.” I beg to differ. Jurassic World highlights some important estate planning issues in a fun filled, action packed, dinosaur laden 90 minutes. SPOILER ALERT! Ok, so...Read More
An officer or employee of a financial institution who suspects financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult is a mandated reporter under the law. A mandated reporter is a person, who as a result of his or her profession, in this case banking, is more likely to be aware of elder abuse or neglect....Read More
David Cassidy, known as Keith Partridge in the popular show The Partridge Family and a teen heartthrob in the 1970s, died of organ failure in Fort Lauderdale on November 21, 2017 at the age of 67. He had been hospitalized with liver and kidney failure the week prior to his death and passed away surrounded...Read More
The New York Times just published a question and answer in its “Social Q’s” section regarding the legal validity of an unsigned Will. Another recent article referenced a Will written in a draft text message. Naturally the text also remained unsigned. The text message was approved as a valid will by an Australian court. In...Read More
Famed Playboy (Owner) and Celebrity Hugh Hefner passed away on September 27th at the age of 91. With an estimated net worth of $50 million at the time of his death, a young wife, multiple ex-wives and ex-girlfriends, and four children to boot, who will end up with Hugh Hefner’s fortune? His last will and testament,...Read More
Chapter Two continues the unhappy saga of the troubles of Tom Clancy’s estate. The main players in this drama are the two wives of Tom Clancy; his first wife, Wanda King, who was married to him for 30 years, and his second wife and widow, Alexandra Clancy, married to him for 14 years. The drama...Read More
What is a no-contest clause and why is it added to a will or trust? In Latin it is known as an “in terrorem” clause, which means that the clause is inserted as a threat or warning to those beneficiaries of a will or trust who would seek to challenge the estate plan after death....Read More
Does the word “estate” in estate planning make you turn a deaf ear to the whole concept of financial planning? Maybe you feel like “estate” planning doesn’t apply to you because your home doesn’t look like an estate, and your bank account is rather ordinary. But if you look at it that way, you may...Read More
After nearly a year in litigation, former Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson’s wife filed papers relinquishing all money and personal property left to her in her husband’s estate. Just who is Ken Thompson, and what went wrong after his death last October? Attorney Ken Thompson was Brooklyn’s first African American District Attorney. Last October he passed...Read More
Conservatorship (called Guardianship for minors) becomes necessary in a variety of circumstances, most commonly due to a lack of mental capacity. When a Conservatorship is needed, someone must step in to fulfill the role of Conservator. A Conservator is charged with the (often difficult) task of caring for the well being of another. Acting as...Read More
If your spouse passed away in California without a Trust, you may think you’ll need to go through probate. However, in many cases, the surviving spouse does not need to probate the estate of their loved one to gain access to his or her assets. Instead, you may only need to file a Spousal Property...Read More
When a person dies who does not have a will the probate court must manage his or her estate. Without making a will the person is said to have died “intestate”. Simply put, the court, according to the laws of each particular state, decides who shall receive outright your personal belongings and money. But there...Read More
For those of you who are fans – or at least avid listeners to the hit podcast “S-Town,” you may be left with a few questions: What happened to Mary Grace? Where is the gold??Did Cousin Rita have something to gain?What happened to all those dogs? I can’t answer these questions definitively, but a recent examination...Read More
The trust battle between the Buss siblings over control of the L.A. Lakers has ended. Jeannie Buss and her brothers, Jim and Johnny, reached with an agreement for Jeannie to remain as controlling owner for as long as the family owns the famed basketball team. On February 21 Jeannie Buss, the L.A. Lakers president and...Read More
When patients are diagnosed with a chronic illness such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, they often feel a sense of hopelessness as their natural confidence is replaced with a feeling of losing control over their lives. They may feel helpless and alone, victims of their disease, and depression can set in. For individuals and families dealing...Read More
Reports indicate that the Administrator of Bobbi Kristina Brown’s massive estate abruptly quit amidst the heated family drama since Brown’s death. Bobbi Kristina Brown, daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, died after being in a coma for several months after a presumed drug overdose nearly two years ago. Her estate, and the ensuing legal...Read More
For most families, setting up a trust to hold one’s property or bank accounts is a prudent step. But when your assets are in the hundreds of millions, setting up a trust (or trusts) is seldom simply an item on your to-do list – it’s a must. As many of you already know, Fox News...Read More
Embed from Getty Images Michael Jackson’s Mother claims Elder Abuse: What are her legal options? Michael Jackson’s 86 year old mother Katherine filed legal documents Wednesday claiming her former driver and nephew in law, Trent Jackson, had subjected her to years of elder abuse. She requested a restraining order, which was temporarily...Read More
Updated 2/25/2021 When a parent dies who has had the forethought to establish a trust, the probate process can be avoided, which can be time-consuming and costly. Now, let’s assume that the parent/trustee has real property in California and has named a successor trustee whose job it is to ensure that the property is...Read More
After years of pressure from patient advocate groups, a recent change in Medicare law will now allow primary care doctors to be reimbursed for Alzheimer’s testing, resulting in quicker diagnoses for elderly patients. Prior to this new rule physicians did not regularly test for dementia and patients often went undiagnosed and untreated until their lives...Read More
When Prince died without leaving a will his estate became subject to the requirements of the probate court. One of the first things the probate court asks for is an inventory of one’s assets. The value of an estate has to be established, and this is done by having a professional appraiser (called a probate referee)...Read More
On a recent trip to visit family friends, I had the opportunity to hear the story of a dear friend’s older sister who had recently passed away. My friend was kind enough to allow me to share that story here. As I do not share the personal stories of my clients, I felt this was...Read More
Most of us will never need to know the ins and outs of the Criminal Court System, the Civil Court system, and maybe not even the family law system. But almost all of us will encounter Probate Law. Why? Because at some point, someone in your family or close circle of friends will die –...Read More
The simple answer: After you die. From a financial perspective, it is generally advantageous to gift property upon your death. However, when making a decision about how best to leave real property to your children there are several important factors to consider. If you plan to keep living in the property, first and foremost is...Read More
