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 […]

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 […]

When it comes to estate planning, most people think of streams of income that are typical, such as current employment, retirement plans, and bank accounts. These obviously need to be included. But there are other, less obvious types of income that some people forget. When you work with an experienced Bay Area estate planning attorney, […]

As a Silicon Valley will and trust lawyer, I’ve worked with many grandparents interested in leaving a legacy behind for their grandchildren. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them they could be causing more harm than good if they aren’t careful. Imagine this for a moment: what would you have done if […]

Adding your child to your bank account seems like common sense so they can help with paying bills. This is convenient, but what people often don’t realize is that the child will have more authority than to just sign checks. Adding your child to your bank account means that they legally own half of the […]

In my practice as a Silicon Valley estate lawyer, one thing that surprises many of my clients is that Powers of Attorney are necessary even for married couples. People automatically assume that their spouse will be able to handle everything on their behalf if they become incapacitated. This is not usually the case. A Power […]