As an estate planning attorney, since 1994, I have met with a lot of perspective clients. I have helped thousands of families with my estate planning services. In all that time I think I am yet to meet someone that doesn’t need some type of estate planning document.  This is because estate planning is so […]

I have spoken to many groups in the last 18 years.  From small town gatherings in Davis, Dixon, Sacramento, Roseville and the list goes on. To large groups at Lyon, Rotary and SIRS (Seniors in Retirement). I have taught classes to attorneys, paralegals and financial planners on estate planning, probate and trust matters. I have […]

As the year progresses toward December 31st one of the biggest estate planning opportunities in modern history is getting set to expire.  The Bush era tax cuts, as modified in December 2010, created an unprecedented FIVE MILLION DOLLAR GIFT TAX EXEMPTION.  This exemption, now $5,120,000, is set to expire at year end. The estate tax can quickly […]

Below I have posted a sample of the information we like to have when we do estate planning. Though we do not require the information it’s helpful to us. It’s helpful in different ways. Let’s discuss. First, the dollar amounts are certainly not required but knowing the approximate estate size helps determine what plan is […]

I met recently with a single mom who has a few bucks in the bank in savings and CDs, a growing 401k and also a couple of life insurance policies.  With a minor child her focus is on protecting the assets for her child of course.  In her case a living trust is not mandatory […]

Many people get married, or often re-married, but are not interested in giving much of their estate to their new spouse. If you find yourself in that position you need to update your estate plan upon marriage. If you fail to update your estate plan upon marriage your new spouse will have an AUTOMATIC INTEREST […]

I had a great example today of why clients need to get their estate planning DONE; or as the Nike ads used to say… JUST DO IT! A client came to me several months ago to update her estate plan.  She advised me that she basically wanted to disinherit her daughter. I made the changes […]

I was a guest lecturer last night at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. The class was on value investing. Lonnie Rush and Jacob Taylor are the teachers of the class. They asked me to talk to these 60 bright young minds about estate planning. Showing how smart they are one student asked me […]

I often see estate plans where clients have done 3 or 4 amendments. That is, amendment to trust # 1 from 2002, amendment #2 from 2005, etc….  Now at first blush I could say they  didn’t have a good estate planning attorney, at the outset, who created flexibility into their trust. That is possible. However, […]

I just read this interesting article on smartmoney.com about protecting your VIRTUAL assets after death. It really is something to think about. I see the practical side all the time when clients break into mom and dad’s accounts after death using passwords. They really shouldn’t do that of course! However, it goes well beyond that […]