Modern Estate Planning Blog

As an Sacramento probate attorney, I meet with a number of young families each month who realize they need a will or guardianship nominations to protect their children if something happens to them, but they are have no additional means (or a significant inheritance) that will financially provide for their children in their absence.

I am all too familiar with the following scenario–mom or dad can no longer take care of themselves and the family needs to bring in some form of additional care. Perhaps that’s care from a nursing home, or some help around the house a few days a week, but regardless of services, the family will often require some form of assistance to afford the costs.

As a Sacramento special needs lawyer, I realize disabled and special needs children have unique planning needs. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions when it comes to securing the financial future your child deserves.

While it is true that the administration and distribution of assets held in a trust following the death of the trust owner is considerably easier and much less time consuming than having to deal with probate, there are still many things that need to be done by the successor trustee before the assets of the trust can be distributed to heirs.

When I begin counseling a new client as a Sacramento trust lawyer, I oftentimes need to take a bit of time to do a “Trust 101” lesson. Trusts can provide huge advantages to those who utilize them, but I find that they are often misunderstood.

As a Gold River probate lawyer, I know the peace of mind you can experience after your estate plan is done is very profound. I’ve had many Gold River probate clients tell me that they get a sense of relief they didn’t even know they needed.

For Sacramento wills and estate lawyers like me, estate planning means so much more than just avoiding taxes and planning for death. Instead, it’s about preserving your “whole family legacy,” which includes family values, traditions and memories should something unexpectedly happen to you.

One of the really sad consequences of the recession was watching the number of families who had to go through bankruptcy. Even worse are those families who stood to inherit cash or items only to have them lost at the hands of the bankruptcy court. Let me explain…

A good, comprehensive estate plan covers so much more than just planning for death, as it should also include provisions to protect your family, assets and wishes in the event of short or long-term incapacity.

I spend a lot of time talking about the need to implement a comprehensive estate plan so your family, assets and wishes stay protected should the unthinkable happen. And while many people “in theory” see the importance of such planning, the truth is that you probably will not be around to see the benefits of your work.

Pre-planning and pre-paying for one’s own funeral is a topic that is coming up more and more with my clients. While this discussion has always been a part of my planning process, it is something that people are bringing up proactively more and more in recent years.

I can honestly say that selecting the executor of your estate is one of the most critical decisions you will make when getting your end-of-life affairs in order. Many people have not even thought about who could fill this important role in overseeing their affairs.

This month we celebrate the 75th anniversary of social security. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935. The concept was simple; younger workers would contribute payroll taxes and retired workers would have a more secure retirement.

Just when you thought the world was finished with Anna Nicole Smith’s legal woes and the troubled actress could finally rest in peace, another ugly court battle is underway. Only this time it involves the trial of her doctors and former boyfriend.

As you begin to have a conversation with an older driver about their driving, it is important to acknowledge the meaning of driving and important to observe driving in a systematic way through regular observations.

I was moved to tears after reading this very poignant article written by a woman who watched as “modern medicine” kept her father’s body living long after his mind, and in her opinion, the essence of who he was, had gone.

As a Sacramento Will and Estates Lawyer, I am naturally prone to think about, and ultimately plan for, what to do in case of an emergency.But of course I am human and don’t necessarily realize some of the dangers that exist out there until I am faced with them in my own day-to-day life.

For middle-aged folks, estate planning in Sacramento goes beyond protecting your kids and your assets should the unthinkable happen to you. It’s also about helping your parent’s get their affairs in order so you are not left with an absolute financial/ legal mess when they become incapacitated or pass away.

A few months ago, I received two back-to-back emergency calls that really got me thinking. Not only did it get me thinking, but it made me adjust the way I approach planning because the “traditional” way of planning just doesn’t meet all your needs.

George Steinbrenner, the fiery owner of the New York Yankees, passed away on July 13. Mr. Steinbrenner became one of the most recognizable professional sports owners in America after having paid around 10 million dollars for ownership of the Yankees in 1973.