by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Mar 13, 2017 | Estate Planning
Some California residents might wonder whether they should make an estate plan when there might be a change in federal estate tax law. However, there are generally benefits to estate planning that are independent of that. Among them are setting up an irrevocable trust...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Mar 6, 2017 | Estate Planning
California residents may have heard that Barack Obama signed the Special Needs Trust Fairness Act into law in December 2016. The new law modifies a rule that says a first-party special needs trust needs to be created by a disabled person’s parent, grandparent or...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Feb 27, 2017 | Executors & Fiduciaries, Trustees
California residents who are named as executors of their mothers’ and fathers’ estates have several important tasks to complete. First, they need to talk with their parents and other family members to ensure that everyone is on the same page concerning how...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Feb 24, 2017 | Estate Administration
When Californian residents who have a will die and leave credit card debt behind, their executors bear the responsibility of dealing with the creditors. The executor may start by ordering the credit reports of the testator in order to find out what debts are...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Feb 14, 2017 | Estate Planning
Many California residents put off making a will, and there are a variety of reasons why. Some people tend to imagine that their final days will come when they have reached their 80s or 90s, which leads to procrastination with estate planning. A survey from Princeton...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Feb 9, 2017 | Estate Administration
Californians who are fans of early pop star Bobby Vee might be interested in learning that the late singer’s children are fighting over his estate. Vee famously stepped in to cover for Buddy Holly who was killed in a plane crash and became a star himself as a...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Feb 3, 2017 | Estate Planning
Some Californians become incapacitated and are no longer able to make important decisions for themselves about health care and finances. Others have developmental disabilities that prevent them from ever making such decisions. If you have a loved one who is in this...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Jan 24, 2017 | Probate Litigation
Almost 99 percent of wills go through the probate process without any issues. However, California residents who have completed a will should be aware of the different reasons a will can be challenged.Any person who may have an interest to gain from the will can...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Jan 19, 2017 | Estate Planning
The estate tax is called the death tax for a reason and most people would rather avoid the estate tax if possible. For example, Michael Jacksons death triggered an estate tax in the area of hundreds of millions of dollars. Instead of this money staying within...
by Kathryn A. Flanigan | Jan 17, 2017 | Estate Planning
California residents who are planning their estates might need to include clauses that address seemingly unlikely situations. When a spouse or an heir dies before or at the same time as an estate’s creator, the state government may step in and implement statutes...
