Many people in California are familiar with mediation in divorce. Spouses who employ mediators often save money and time by resolving sticky issues like asset disputes without prolonged, emotion-fueled litigation. For many of the same reasons, mediation is also used to settle heirs’ arguments over estates. Successful mediation is a low-key answer to what otherwise […]

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Sometimes incapacity prevents a person, like an elderly parent or a developmentally disabled child, from making sound life decisions. Conservatorships provide a legal remedy to protect vulnerable loved ones from financial and other abuses. Probate conservatorship is the judicial process by which a conservator is appointed to make choices for a conservatee. With proof of incapacity […]

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Millions of people in California employ social media sites to share information and images every day. Beyond the public presence, consumers are also dependent upon online sources for financial transactions that may not be recorded or stored in any other form. Estate planning attorneys and clients concentrate heavily on tangible asset distribution and protection. A secondary […]

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California family members come in all shapes, sizes and degrees of closeness. Step relatives, half-siblings and unmarried partnerships are as common today as they were once scarce. Attorneys caution individuals who are building estate plans to be extremely careful when naming heirs. Wills, trusts and other estate planning documents must be clearly interpreted by probate judges, trustees, […]

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