Firm News

Crafting a solid estate plan is essential to ensuring your wishes are fulfilled and your loved ones are provided for after you’re gone. However, even the most well-intentioned plans can unravel if critical details are overlooked. Below, we explore three common...

The short answer to the question of whether you are legally obligated to support your parents is “probably not.”  While California does have a filial law, it is rarely enforced. Filial laws are also known as filial support laws which require adult children to...

I love the holidays, it’s a time to gather and connect with friends and family.  Since I had my first child 17 years ago, I’ve used this time to mentally review whether or not the guardians I choose for my children still make sense.  I am sure you are eagerly...

I occasionally discuss with my clients the issue of someone “fighting” their trust. This usually is where there is an estranged child or other family member, and the clients are concerned about cost and delay of litigation after their death.  The clients will ask...

I’ll be honest, the best way to discuss these issues with my own mother was over a bottle of champagne.  But, we got through it and had some laughs and some tears. As our parents age, we're often faced with difficult conversations about their future health care needs,...

If you are serving as a trustee, executor, administrator, guardian or conservator and rental property is part of the estate, you may be subject to additional reporting requirements starting in 2025. Assembly Bill 2747 adds Civil Code Section 1954.07 which requires...

The short answer to the question of whether your estate planning binder needs to be in your “go bag” is - probably it does, especially if it contains the original signed documents.  We are in fire season here in California and the east coast is being pelted by...

Have you ever received or given a “loan” from or to a family member with the expectation that it would be paid back with interest and a promissory note was signed for the funds?  Not likely.  A new Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case – Estate of Bolles (9th Cir. 2024)...

There are two statements I hear over and over again as a Trusts and Estates attorney. First: I don’t have any money so I don’t need an estate plan.  Second: My estate plan is super easy, everything goes to my spouse and then to my kids.  Hopefully, this blog will be...

Due to the prevalence of DNA matching on genealogy websites, it will become more and more common to discover formerly unknown relatives.  I had a recent matter where a child contacted someone that showed up as a half-sibling on a popular genealogy website.  After some...