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Estate Planning




Recent Posts in Estate Planning Category

  • What Happens If You Die Without a Will?

    Ideally, it is best to create an estate plan as early as possible. A will is crucial for allowing you to determine precisely how you want your property to be distributed when you pass away. However, if you die without a will, California's intestate succession laws will determine the future of your estate. Intestate Succession in California When someone dies without a will, they die "intestate." ...
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  • Wills vs. Trusts: What's the Difference

    Preparing for one's death is never easy, especially if you are trying to plan what happens to your estate when you are gone. For those with spouses and dependents, you may wish to leave behind funds for them to be able to access as they mature, possibly ensuring that they have income or property in the future. As such, it is important to understand how wills and trusts work to determine which you ...
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  • The Essential Guide for Estate Planning

    Often, people will put off creating an estate plan. It never seems like something that needs to be taken care of immediately. "I'll do it soon." "I'll take care of that when I'm not so busy." "It'll be fine." The excuses are endless, but when the time comes, and you do need an estate plan , it can be too late. That's why it's always better to plan ahead of time. Without a proper estate plan in ...
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  • California Adopts New Digital Assets Act

    Digital assets remain among the most beguiling aspects contemplated by my estate planning clients. Our online personalities are our photo albums, diaries and memory books. How can we maintain our privacy while also allowing the collection and transfer of these assets upon our deaths? As of January 1, 2017 the California legislature is helping its residents navigate that question. A new law ...
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  • Estate Planning in 2017 and Beyond

    By Alexandra Smyser We all know that the new president has made sweeping changes in just his first two weeks in office. Republicans control the WH and both houses of congress for only the second time in modern history. I have had several jittery clients reach out to ask what kind of changes might be on the horizon for estate tax and gift tax. From the information we have been given from the new ...
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  • Prince, An Artist Formerly Known as a Musical Genius with No Estate Plan

    By Alexandra Smyser Like most Americans, I was shocked and saddened by the death of Prince. I liked Prince in middle school and high school, but in college his music became the soundtrack to my life. Unfortunately for all of us, collectively mourning musicians has become all too commonplace in the last year. And at first, I was simply one of those fans who couldn’t imagine a world without Prince ...
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  • Estate Planning and Winning the Lottery

    By Alexandra Smyser Lotto fever hit America last week with a Powerball jackpot of $1.5 billion up for grabs. Chances are you didn’t win the jackpot (I didn’t!), but it sure is fun to think about what you would do with $1.5 billion dollars. What people don’t often think about is how coming into a large sum of money, whether from the lottery, an inheritance or a legal settlement, impacts your estate ...
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  • Estate Planning for Tax-Deferred Investments

    By Alexandra Smyser​ Next to the family home, IRAs often represent the bulk of a middle-class family’s wealth. It is no surprise that clients want to preserve balances in their retirement accounts for their families. Ironically, due to federal regulations, IRAs are some of the most difficult assets to plan for, so it’s incumbent on us to advise our clients on the various planning methods. If a ...
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  • National Elder Abuse Awareness Day

    By Alexandra Smyser As an estate planning attorney, I often will hear of elderly individuals or couples being taken advantage of financially. Elder financial abuse is a complicated issue that is affecting more and more of our senior population. First of all, senior adults are often seen as easy targets for scams by criminals. But what is more alarming is that seniors may become victims of ...
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  • Estate Planning for Small Business Owners

    Estate planning is important for every adult, but entrepreneurs have their own special considerations when it comes time to develop an estate plan . For most small business owners, their business represents the largest portion of their assets. An estate plan ensures that control of your business goes to the person you have chosen. Otherwise, intestate laws distribute assets according to who is ...
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  • You're Never Too Young for an Estate Plan

    Among those who have yet to create an estate plan, the most common reason given for the delay is that they are "too young" to need to worry about such things. However, even the young and healthy should take the time to protect themselves and their loved ones in the event of a disaster. The prevalence of nontraditional family structures are one key reason why young adults need an estate plan . ...
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  • Developing an Incapacity Plan

    Although most of us think about estate planning in terms of distributing our assets after we pass away, this is far from the only function of an estate plan. One important, yet often overlooked, reason to create an estate plan is to prepare for what would happen if you were to become mentally incapacitated. Mental incapacitation, whether from an accident, injury, or illness, leaves you unable to ...
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  • After Divorce, Don't Forget to Update Your Estate Plan

    Divorce can be a time of many changes. After ending your marriage, you may find yourself moving to a new city, seeking a new job, and/or living alone for the first time in several years. There's nothing wrong with being eager to move on with your life, but it's important to spend some time updating your estate plan to make sure you're not unintentionally leaving certain assets to your former ...
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  • Estate Planning for Intellectual Property Rights

    Patents, copyrights, and trademarks can be highly valuable forms of intellectual property, which means these assets must be properly accounted for in your estate plan. Patents protect inventions and are most commonly classified as either utility patents or design patents. Utility patents protect inventions for 20 years from the application filing date, while design patents last 15 years from the ...
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  • Medicaid and Your Estate Plan

    When thinking about managing their personal finances, most people focus exclusively on retirement planning and estate planning . Unfortunately, this overlooks the importance of planning for any end of life care you may need. As the life expectancy of the average adult continues to increase, so do the odds that you'll require some form of end of life care. Since nursing home bills can easily ...
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  • How to Talk to Your Parents About Estate Planning

    As you develop your own estate plan, you may find yourself wondering how to broach this sensitive subject with your parents. Even though Pasadena attorneys encourage clients to discuss estate planning with their heirs, studies indicate that the majority of Americans say they are in the dark as to what their parents' estate plan involves. Here are some tips to make the estate planning conversation ...
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  • Robin Williams' Heirs Battle Over His Estate

    Comedian Robin Williams took his own life in August 2014, after struggling with depression, anxiety, and symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Now, his heirs are in a battle for control of his estate. Williams married third wife Susan Schneider in 2011. He was the father of three children: Zachary Pym "Zak" Williams, Zelda Rae Williams, and Cody Alan Williams. Zachary's mother is Williams' first wife ...
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  • Understanding California's Intestate Succession Laws

    To understand the importance of a properly prepared estate plan, it's helpful to look at California's intestate succession laws. People who die without an estate plan are said to have passed away "intestate". Their property is distributed as follows: If you are married your spouse inherits all of your community property. How much of the separate property your spouse inherits depends on how many ...
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  • How a Roth IRA Can Benefit Your Estate Plan

    Since they can reduce estate taxes and leave no income tax for your heirs to pay on withdrawal, Roth IRAs make excellent wealth transfer vehicles for your estate plan. However, there are a few things to consider if you're t hinking about establishing a Roth IRA or converting to one from a Traditional IRA . The most important point to remember about Roth IRAs is that they best focus on ensuring the ...
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  • Protect Yourself from Estate Planning Scams

    Estate planning is the best way to ensure that your loved ones will be taken care of after your passing, but it's vital that you understand how to protect yourself from unscrupulous individuals seeking to take advantage of vulnerable seniors through estate planning scams . Your estate plan should be prepared by a lawyer with the training and experience necessary to address your individual needs ...
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  • Estate Planning Is All About Values

    If you think estate planning in Pasadena is only about saving money on taxes , you're sorely mistaken. A properly prepared estate plan can be a tool to express your faith and values even after you've passed on. The most obvious way to incorporate your personal faith and values into your estate plan is to make a church or a secular charitable organization a beneficiary. You could leave a specific ...
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  • Dealing with Family Heirlooms in Your Estate Plan

    The distribution of family heirlooms needs to be dealt with carefully in the estate planning process . Whenever an item has both sentimental and financial value, there's a high potential for disagreement among your heirs. With the exception of photographs, scrapbooks, and personal letters, most family heirlooms will need an appraisal to determine their fair market value. Antiques, jewelry, and ...
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  • The Importance of Naming Alternates in Your Estate Plan

    On January 4, the founder of Wainscott Capital Partners Fund, Thomas Gilbert Sr., was found murdered in his Manhattan apartment. Shortly after, his son, Thomas Gilbert Jr., was arrested and charged with the crime. The elder Gilbert's will splits a $1.6 million nest egg between his wife, daughter, and son. Unfortunately, there is some speculation that the son accused of murdering his father may ...
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  • Don't Forget to Include Digital Assets in Your Estate Plan

    When most of us think about estate planning, we think about handling the distribution of physical assets like our financial accounts, real estate, jewelry, and collectibles. However, in today's high-tech society, our digital assets can be just as important. As part of your estate plan, someone you trust should have the login information for all of your online accounts . This includes your email ...
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  • Where Should You Keep Your Estate Planning Documents?

    The estate planning process involves creating several important documents, such as wills, living trusts, and inventories of personal property. Once you have all these documents created, it's important to make sure they're stored someplace where they can easily be accessed if needed. If your heirs can't find your estate planning documents after your passing, you will be assumed to have died without ...
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