Estate Planning

Estate planning has an emotional side. Facing mortality and the possibility of becoming incapacitated and discussing inheritance with your family can be challenging. Additionally, it can be emotional to give up control of your assets. Estate planning can also...

Choosing a guardian for your child is an extremely important decision. If something happens to you, you want to be sure your child is cared for by someone you trust.  In California, parents can legally name a guardian to take on this role. Below are some important...

For many individuals and families, faith plays a central role in guiding major life decisions—including how they approach estate planning. Crafting an estate plan that reflects your religious beliefs is not only possible but can be a meaningful way to express your...

When estate planning, you have the right to name someone to follow your medical instructions if you become incapacitated and make others for you. This party is called an agent. Since they will be responsible for your life, you should choose wisely. The following are...

All adults should have an estate plan that outlines their wishes for what will happen with their finances and medical care if they become incapacitated, as well as their wishes for assets after they pass away. Some people like to think of this as a one-and-done task,...

Creating an estate plan requires you to consider much more than just who will get which assets when you pass away. One of the important considerations is your medical care if you become incapacitated.  There are two options that you have for ensuring that you have...

When creating an estate plan, one important task is to choose an estate executor or an estate administrator. This is the person who will make sure that your estate plan is actually followed and carry out important tasks like paying debts, inventorying assets and...

A payable-on-death (POD) account is something that you may want to consider as you create your estate plan. Essentially, you can use this paperwork to assign a beneficiary to one of your financial accounts. It then becomes a payable-on-death account because that...

Business succession planning is what you do when you are preparing to pass your company on to the next generation. This shouldn’t be a spur-of-the-moment decision, such as deciding to retire and handing your business over within the span of a week. It’s something you...

Disinheriting someone means not leaving them any assets in the estate plan when they otherwise would have inherited. For instance, you may have two adult children, and they assume that your estate will be split between them. However, you have the option to leave...