Most of our readers remember the actor Philip Seymour Hoffman. Even if you don’t recognize his name, you likely saw him in one of the many movies he did, including “Hunger Games,” “Doubt,” “Charlie Wilson’s War” and “Capote.” Hoffman died in 2014 of a fatal mixture of drugs. The Oscar-winning actor was found with a […]

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Americans are staying single for longer — often through their 20s and into their 30s. Often single people don’t have any kind of estate plan in place, particularly if they have no children and don’t yet own a home or have significant assets. However, even if you opt not to yet draw up a will, […]

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Most California residents want to spare their heirs the difficulty, time and costs associated with probate proceedings. There are a lot of different strategies one can employ to eliminate the need for probate. One way involves the elimination of probate for specific assets, and it involves the use of joint property. Let’s say you own […]

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If you’re remarrying and haven’t yet created an estate plan, now is the time to do so. It can prevent issues among your children, new spouse and previous spouse if you pass away or become incapacitated to the point where you’re no longer able to speak for yourself. If you already have an estate plan, […]

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Dissatisfied family members have attempted to challenge wills ever since their creation as a tool to make one’s end of life wishes known and pass on property to heirs. It is, in many ways, a fixture of the process for many families. These days, however, the notion “I deserve this particular piece of property, it’s […]

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Many of our readers recall the bitter dispute between Casey Kasem’s wife and his adult children in the year prior to his death. The former American Top 40 host was suffering from Lewy body dementia, among other medical conditions. Kasem’s three oldest children from his first marriage were battling with his wife Jean over their […]

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Even people who don’t have a will or estate plan can designate a beneficiary on their bank accounts. This is known in the banking world as a payable on death (POD) account. It prevents the account from going into probate and allows the beneficiary to have access to the funds simply by presenting the death certificate of […]

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Many Californians don’t consider developing an estate plan until they have a child. Then, the primary consideration is often who will be that child’s guardian(s) should both parents pass away or be unable to care for their offspring. That’s certainly not something that anyone wants to consider, but it could happen in the blink of […]

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A debilitating injury or illness can occur at any time, even to young and seemingly-healthy people. When people are no longer able to look after their own interests, whether due to dementia or some other condition, and they don’t have an estate plan designating someone to do so in their stead, it may be necessary […]

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Creating an estate plan can be a challenging process. This is even more so the case if you have a child who is under the age of 18. If you find yourself in this situation, you need to ask yourself a very important question: Who will care for the child in the event that you […]

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