There’s good news for vulnerable seniors in California and across the country. As part of a larger bipartisan bill on banking reform, the Senior Safe Act became law in the month of May. This legislation is an attempt to stop acts of financial abuse targeted at senior citizens by encouraging banks, credit unions, investment advisors, […]

Help! I Inherited a Timeshare. Now what?! I know many people who love timeshares. That is, the option to be a part owner of a property which is used for getaways and vacations. Even though a deeded timeshare is an interest in real property, it is usually more of a luxury than an asset. Even […]

A lot of parents come into our Silicon Valley estate planning law firm with mixed feelings about passing on the balance of their retirement accounts to their children when they die someday. On one hand they are proud of the money they have saved over their lifetime in an IRA; on the other hand, they […]

People often struggle with deciding who will serve as guardian for their minor children if they pass away. As Santa Clara County trust lawyers, we’ve walked hundreds of Santa Clara families through this process. Sometimes, the family situation requires naming not just one guardian, but two. If you leave your children a substantial inheritance (and […]

The majority of people we see in our Santa Clara estate planning law firm name their adult children as beneficiaries of their estate plan. In most cases, this works well because children typically outlive their parents. But what happens when a child dies before the parent? What becomes of the inheritance that a parent plans […]

I’ve written many times about the importance of selecting the right person to serve as trustee for a Special Needs Trust in California. The trustee will need to make distributions, file tax returns, and carry out numerous other duties that go along with administering a trust. Families often consider a sibling for this important role, but […]

Here in Santa Clara, living will attorneys know full well the ramifications of not planning ahead for an unexpected disability. Even those clients who understand the importance of estate planning tend to overlook what would happen if they should become unable to care for themselves. It’s not the happiest thought, but the reality of not […]

An executor is chosen by a testator to carry out the intentions of the will after the testator has died. It’s fairly easy to replace an executor when the testator is still alive—all the testator has to do is simply name a new executor. However, this becomes far more complicated and difficult once the testator […]

As a Bay Area will lawyer, I advise that it’s always best for a person to write down one’s intentions for their property when they die. However, many people still die intestate (without a will), and their intentions aren’t known. Often, however, these people’s heirs may make a claim that the deceased orally stated what […]

It’s always painful when a loved one passes. After death, there’s also the legal obligation of administering an estate, which often includes probate. Santa Clara County probate is the process in which the decedents’ estate is settled and distributed to those entitled to receive an inheritance from the estate. This process can take months or […]