Most of your estate plan will focus on what happens to your property after your death. However, a thorough estate plan should also protect you in the event of a medical emergency. A workplace fall, a seizure or a cardiac event could leave you in a coma and unable to...
Californians who own land that they want to protect from development after they’re gone can purchase a conservation easement. An easement offers protection in perpetuity for land from any use that the owner believes would conflict with their goals for it or compromise...
There are many reasons why individuals sit down to do estate planning. One big factor that motivates them is choosing what happens with their assets instead of allowing the intestate succession rules to apply instead. What happens, however, if someone contests your...
Formalizing an advance health care directive is a powerful part of estate planning. It can ensure that your medical providers adhere to your health care wishes, even if you cannot communicate those wishes orally. When written well, an advance health care directive...
One thing that we know for certain is that everyone’s affairs will need to be taken care of at some point. This could mean paying taxes, distributing assets, making final medical decisions and much more. But there will come a point in everyone’s lives when this...
You do not need to understand cryptocurrency to have some. Trading platforms make it easy to buy and sell without in-depth knowledge of the technology behind digital currency. While few people could claim to be experts on how cryptocurrency works, too many families...
The executor has a pivotal role in settling your estate, making sure outstanding bills and taxes are paid, disputes settled among heirs and assets distributed to beneficiaries. The role is thankless, time-consuming, stressful and overwhelming. You want to make sure...
An advance medical directive serves as a legal document that provides specific instructions to health care professionals as to what they should do if you are in a coma, unable to communicate, seriously injured, terminally ill or in a vegetative state. Because you...
While you may love all your children equally, you may not feel that they should receive equal inheritances once you pass away. If one of your children earns less than their siblings, you may want to leave them a greater share of your assets to provide them with...
The executor of an estate, whether the attorney or a trusted friend or family member of the deceased person, has a significant responsibility. He or she oversees the payment of estate taxes and debts, as well as the distribution of assets to estate beneficiaries. ...
