You’ve inherited part of a family member’s estate. Maybe they designated you as a beneficiary in their will. Perhaps they died without a will (“intestate”) and you are due a portion of the estate under California’s probate laws. What if you don’t want or need the inheritance? You’d prefer that someone else receive it — […]

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By having a thorough, professionally-developed estate plan, you can ensure that your affairs will be looked after responsibly if you become physically and/or mentally incapacitated and unable to do so. You also can plan for your assets to be disbursed as you’ve designated after you’re gone. However, it’s essential to make sure that you protect […]

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Serving as the executor of someone’s estate is a difficult job. Many people find that they have to take a leave from work in order to handle everything involved. Depending on the size of the estate and the level of preparation undergone by the testator, you could have several weeks or even months of bookkeeping, asset […]

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It is common for an individual to choose a relative or close and trusted friend to serve as executor of the estate when the time comes. For example, your parents or another loved one may have asked you to be the executor of their estate when they pass. While you probably felt honored at being […]

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Sometimes, people make decisions when drafting their estate plan that they don’t discuss with their family. They may want to avoid the conflict inherent in telling a child that their sibling is getting more money than them or that they’re leaving the bulk of their estate to their favorite animal rescue group instead of their […]

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When a loved one passes away and leaves you in charge of their estate, you need to start with a general accounting process that focuses specifically on all of the little details. Every penny matters. You need to know where it went, how it got used and why it got used that way. Leave nothing […]

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People often hear about the need to create a will, but some people don’t pay attention to what happens when a person dies and there isn’t one in place. When there isn’t an estate plan in place, the person is said to have died intestate. California laws govern who is going to get what when […]

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Even though he lived to the ripe old age of 95, fans around the world were still devastated by the death of Stan Lee in Los Angeles earlier this month. As one of the creators of X-Men, Spider-Man, Black Panther, The Incredible Hulk and the Marvel Universe, Lee’s fortune at the time of his death […]

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Your older sister was named the executor of your father’s estate. Your dad was your last living parent. You were fine with her having that job. She’s a retired realtor who at one point in her life worked on Wall Street. Therefore, she had the time and the skills to handle the job. Now that […]

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When your loved one is not living at their residential property, it leaves it open for people to take advantage of. This is particularly true in cases where they may not have anyone taking care of the property. If you stop at the home and see that other people are living there, the problem you […]

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