Probate lawyers in Santa Clara County understand that while we’re well-versed in the topic, it is a whole new world to most of our clients. That means that you likely have lots of questions that you need answered. Fortunately, answering those questions is exactly what we do! Do the Santa Clara County Probate Courts Have […]

Of course, it makes sense that a Bay Area wills and estates attorney would tell you to create a will, right? Our job is to help people plan for what will happen to their estates once they’re gone. But having been involved in estate planning in the Bay Area for such a long time, it’s […]

By Gary Brainin, Bay Area elder lawyer As a Bay Area elder lawyer, I help people plan for long-term care costs on a regular basis. Long-term care can include any service that helps people who have a prolonged illness. The illness can be a physical disability or a cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease or […]

By Gary Brainin, Bay Area Will and Trust Lawyer Based on what I am seeing as a Bay Area will and trust lawyer, more and more people are considering pre-planning and pre-paying for their own funeral. For years, I have recommended that my clients include their wishes for their final arrangements in their estate plans, […]

One of my greatest passions as a Santa Clara estate planning lawyer is educating parents about how important it is to prepare for their untimely death. Not a fun topic, I realize. But it just takes one sad circumstance of parents passing away and leaving the kids to deal with squabbling relatives to understand how […]

By Gary Brainin, Silicon Valley wills lawyer If you own a car, you know it requires regular maintenance in order to perform well and be reliable. When you purchased your car, you probably received a recommended schedule for service. If you follow that schedule, most likely your car will continue to work well. If you […]

When the subject of inheritance is being discussed, people almost always ask this question to their Will and Trust lawyer in Santa Clara County. Here is what you need to know about how you might be taxed on an inheritance. Income Taxes The IRS expects you to report every source of income. This leads many […]

A Power of Attorney is a legal device that is used to give someone the power to act on your behalf if you are unable to. For example, if you have Alzheimer’s disease, there is a possibility that you will get to the point where it is no longer possible for you to make decisions. […]

The Centers for Medicare and Medi-Cal Services (CMS) just made a momentous change of federal nursing home regulations. Nursing homes are now banned from using pre-dispute binding arbitration agreements. This means nursing homes can no longer force you to sign away your right to due process. Let me explain…. Before this regulation change, nursing homes […]

It’s hard to believe that more than half of all adults in America do not have a Last Will and Testament or Trust in place, especially with so many public stories of celebrities who left their estates a mess by not leaving behind a Will, leaving an invalid Will, or not properly funding their Trusts. […]