The answer is Yes, absolutely. Our firm represents Administrators and Executors who live outside of California all the time. Our Estate Administrators (also called Executors) live all over the country in fact – Pennsylvania, Florida, Oregon, New Jersey, New York, Indiana, and so forth. Many of them also don’t have the time to travel to...Read More

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What function can life insurance serve as part of your estate plan?   Prior to the big changes in estate tax laws, life insurance was commonly put into place to pay estate taxes. No longer necessary, as estates can exempt $5.45 million for each individual from what used to be called the “death tax”, life...Read More

1. If you already have an Estate Plan, Get a New One In most cases, getting a divorce will essentially invalidate your Trust or Will if you have one. However, it should be noted that your former Will or Trust will only be invalid once the divorce is finalized. Simply filing for divorce changes nothing...Read More

What is the role of a Professional Fiduciary in the context of California probate law? And just what is a Professional Fiduciary?  Let’s first define Professional Fiduciary, as it’s not a profession that is particularly well known. A professional fiduciary has two primary roles within probate law. The first is as someone whose job is to...Read More

Image by Peacock TV Jay Pritchett’s family on ABC’s popular sitcom “Modern Family” is a reflection of many families in the U.S. today. Jay (Ed O’Neill) and Gloria (Sophia Vergara) are parents of a blended family – in other words, they are in a second (or third) marriage and have children from multiple marriages. How...Read More

If you’re considering doing a Will or Trust for yourself, or assisting another individual with their Estate Plan, it’s important to know who can legally execute estate planning documents. The ability to make a will or trust may also come in to question if you have a parent or relative who is under a conservatorship....Read More

Without a Will or Trust, the state gets to decide who will get your assets. In addition, the chances of a family fight are drastically increased. Even a basic, handwritten will can go a long way – and there’s only a few requirements to make it legally valid. So why do so many Americans put off...Read More

As many Star Trek fans may already know, 27 year old actor Anton Yelchin, known as “ Chekov” to fans, died in a freak car accident on June 19th when he was crushed by his Jeep Cherokee in the driveway of his Studio City home. Last Friday, Court records revealed he had no will or...Read More

If the debacle of music legend Prince’s Estate doesn’t inspire you to get your Estate Plan in order, I don’t know what will.  With an estimated $300 million at stake, multiple family members and people claiming to be family members, Minnesota Judge Eide announced they were entering “uncharted territory.”  With no will yet to be...Read More

Due to recent changes in estate tax laws, the bypass trust may not produce the savings it once did.  On the contrary, it may cost families more.  The bypass trust, also known as the A/B Trust, was once a popular estate planning tool. Consequently, many estate plans – especially those done prior to 2000- may contain one...Read More

Article By Matthew Talbot. This article was featured in June’s Issue of Lamorinda Moms. Despite being the home to the tech hub of America, Silicon Valley, California has yet to enact any legal guidelines for accessing digital accounts after someone dies. Yes, I am aware Facebook and a handful of other sites have their own procedures for...Read More

As an attorney who works in the Trust and Estate field, I frequently run across the question of why someone should pay an attorney to do their Estate Plan. After all, a professionally done will, trust, or other estate planning document can cost between several hundred to thousands of dollars. Is it really worth it?...Read More

Over the next 30-40 years, it is estimated that baby boomers will transfer an unprecedented 30 trillion dollars to the next generation, resulting in the greatest wealth transfer of our time. In contrast, studies estimate the previous inter generational wealth transfer (still in process) at just $11 trillion.  Due to the proliferation of second and third marriages, the...Read More

The state of Illinois recently resolved the estate of Mary Petroff, a nonagenarian (new word! – “90’s”) who died in 2011. It took nearly 4 years for the state to find and confirm the 48 relatives who laid claim to her and her late sister Anne’s $1.36 million estate. The story of Mary and Anne’s...Read More