Ask a Santa Clara County Estate Planning Lawyer: “I Just Discovered a Long-Lost Sister. Can She Inherit Dad’s Estate?” This may sound like a situation from a movie, but it happens more frequently than you might imagine: a long-lost child appears after the death of their parent. This is an alarming situation for many reasons, […]

  A Power of Attorney is a document which names an agent to handle your financial affairs if you are incapacitated or otherwise unable to, while also explaining any limitations you wish to place on your agent while they act in your stead. There are many types to choose from, so it’s important to know […]

If you are reading our blog, you’ve probably already decided that you want to create a living trust with a Silicon Valley will and trust lawyer to avoid probate and put a quick end to the estate administration process. You might also have decided that you want your estate and the decisions you made about […]

Legal competency concerns can lead to issues for senior citizens, both during life and after death. This is especially true for financial affairs and disputed inheritances. Santa Clara Elder law and guardianship attorneys must be able to determine a senior’s legal competency in both physical and mental areas because of the serious consequences it can […]

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 […]