Estate Tax

The advent of a new year often means new tax laws that will have an impact on estate planning strategies. January of 2020 was no exception with the enactment of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act, known as the SECURE Act of 2019. The act has...

It is January, the month for resolutions. Addressing the issue of creating an estate plan is occasionally one of those resolutions and is one that people in California should keep. People often have the mistaken thought that they don't have assets worth protecting and...

Another new year has arrived, and many people's thoughts turn to the future as they consider goals and accomplishments to be pursued in the coming months. For many in California, this may include the task of estate planning. While contemplating one's passing may not...

Another year is ending and many people take the opportunity to review estate plans as they head into the new year. One question that frequently arises concerns any tax changes to be aware of and any steps that can be taken regarding protecting assets and reducing...

As people go about their lives they grow up, embark on a career, raise a family and throughout all of this amass assets to bequeath to the next generation. It can become a legacy that one hopes will benefit the next and future generations. Real estate is often part of...

As the year draws to an end in California, one's thoughts may be drawn to a review of the year almost passed and plans for the year about to begin. Plans for the new year may include taking steps to protect one's family for the future. No one relishes the idea of...

Much has been written about how people can learn from the mistakes made by celebrities who passed away without having created an estate plan. Something that is less prevalent is being able to learn from celebrities who have planned well. Estate planning is not...

Once upon a  time a person could go to school, grow up, work for a company and then retire with a pension. Pensions have, for the most part, given way to 401(k) programs that rely in part on the investment knowledge of the individual. This can make the question of...

There is one word that frequently comes up in conjunction with creating an estate plan: procrastination. That procrastination can prove to be a fatal mistake. There was another well-known personality in California whose recent death drove that fact home. John...

Family structures in California have become more complicated in recent years. With second marriages, children from second marriages and the respective extended families, estate planning needs to take all of these considerations into account. While many aspects of an...