So you just lost a loved one and now, to add insult to injury, you learn the house is upside down. That is, the house is worth less than your deceased loved one owes on it. Your first instinct, particularly if it’s the only “asset,” is to walk away. However, could you earn yourself some […]

We estate planning attorneys have been waiting for a new law since the “old” law went into effect in 2002.  Surely the smart people in Washington DC will come up with a new law prior to the sunset of this law at the end of 2010… surely… and time kept ticking on toward December 31, […]

I get this call a lot. “My mom died in Sacramento and I need help!”  Often the caller or emailer grew up in Sacramento but left and never returned. However, mom and dad stayed behind.  Often dad died a few years ago and now mom moved on. These clients do not live here anymore, often […]

Did you know life insurance is a taxable asset in your estate?  It’s true. A lot of people think life insurance is “tax free” and that’s simply not the case. It does, generally, build in value without income tax.  However, at death it is an asset of the deceased’s estate and subject to estate tax […]

We still don’t know what the laws will be on January 1, 2011.  However, you should remember there IS a tax law in place for January 1, 2011 and it is a one million dollar exemption.  Today there is no estate tax and January 1st there is a big tax (up to 55%) with only […]

I wasn’t sure what to write about today.  To come up with an inspiration I just looked at my calendar to see what clients I have met with this week. Just yesterday’s clients gave me 3 good ideas. I am going to tell you about my meeting with a man we will call Tom.  Of […]

You live nowhere near Sacramento but you have a legal issue here. How would that work?  Some common reasons people, who live elsewhere, hire us to do legal work are: 1) mom/dad/relative/friend died in the Sacramento area and you need a probate attorney here to handle that for you and 2) your mom/dad/relative/friend lives here and […]

Still waiting…. Tick, tock, tick, tock…. I heard a funny client comment the other day.  The guy said to me, “I want to clean up my estate plan to account for Obama’s tax law changes as I don’t want him getting my money….” This is not political commentary… this is reality.  The tax law “changes” […]

I have had a number of calls lately from people who had a death in the family and need to clear title to real estate. However, the death wasn’t last week or last month… and in one case not even last decade.  In many cases there is no rush to clear title through a probate […]

I met with some giddy newlyweds last week.  They were about 70 years old and really they define the word GIDDY!  As the kids would say, “OMG!”  We met to discuss their estate planning needs. Though not worth millions they do have assets that they have worked hard to gather.  Also, they each have kids […]