Ahoy there, fellow Californians, estate planning enthusiasts, and everyone who’s setting sail in the sea of life! I’m your friendly neighborhood lawyer, seasoned sailor of the legal seas, ready to guide you through the complex currents of estate planning. Today, we’re going to char...
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When a spouse is disabled and has qualified to receive Medi-Cal (California’s Medicaid program), what happens if the “well” spouse dies first? Medi-Cal is a “needs based” program. That means there are strict income and asset requirements. A person applying for and receiving Medi-Cal must have less t...
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Who takes care of you if you cannot care for yourself? Do you know who will take care of you if you are so sick that you cannot make your own healthcare decisions? Will that person be legally allowed to talk to your doctor and make decisions on your behalf? And, will that person know […]
Read moreI hear a lot of excuses why people are not ready to prepare an estate plan. I even used some of these myself. I thought I would share the ones I hear most frequently. Seeing a lawyer is intimidating Lawyers can be intimidating, plus as a general profession, lawyers do not have the greatest reputati...
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For many people, their retirement assets consist of accounts such as an employer sponsored 401(k) plan and/or IRA accounts. The reason for doing so it obvious: they allow for either tax-deferred growth of your hard earned money. One pitfall of these accounts is what will happen to them when you pass...
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Lawyers seem to have their own language. Many certainly speak in jargon. While I try to speak in plain English, there are many terms that are used in estate planning that need to be explained. One is “Intestate Succession.” Intestate Succession is the method by which property is distribu...
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