Nuncupative wills are those that are spoken orally to another party. This typically occurs when a person is on their death bed and must provide instructions for the transfer of personal property to beneficiaries. In many cases, oral wills are not legally...
When estate planning, you'll need to decide what to do with proceeds from retirement accounts and life insurance policies. In this case, beneficiary designations determine who receives these assets after you die. It's important to understand how beneficiary...
Many California residents have an estate plan to ensure their belongings go to their family, friends and charities after they die. If you have a loved one who changed their will frequently, or shortly before they passed away, it may be unclear if the document reflects...
Most high-asset couples already have a will in place, and several in California also have living trusts completed so that they can avoid the probate process, transferring assets sooner with smaller legal fees. If you haven’t set up a living trust, or know...
A power of attorney is a representative you choose to handle financial and medical decisions should you become incapacitated. Making the right selection is crucial to ensure medical staff and family are fully aware of your decisions, while also making certain that...
The inheritance rights of one's natural heirs through California's intestate succession guidelines have been detailed on this blog in the past. A decedent's children are entitled to a portion of their intestate estate if the children survive them. That is, of course,...
As our parents and beloved family members age, it’s difficult to see their mental capacity decline. This can be problematic if the will was created or altered when the estate holder or testator was of diminished capacity. It can call the will into question, and...
Most in San Jose likely believe that they will have years to plan for their estates. Yet what happens if your spouse dies unexpectedly while still relatively young? Even in the event that you had both planned ahead and created estate planning documents, it is likely...
We recently wrote about some of the ways in which closing or launching a business can affect one's estate plan, but there are many other reasons why it may be necessary to go over your estate plan. For example, if you are in the middle of a divorce or you recently...
There are many different reasons why it becomes necessary for people to go over their estate plan, whether they split up with their spouse, they want to remove a beneficiary or they adopt children. However, business issues, such as starting or closing a business, can...
