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Articles Posted in ESTATE PLANNING

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How Different Powers of Attorney Can Affect Your Legal Rights

There is an important distinction in estate planning between a power of attorney for financial affairs and an advance directive, also known as a power of attorney for health care. Both documents fulfill a similar purpose – appointing an agent to act on your behalf when you are incapable of…

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How California’s New “Digital Estate Planning” Law Affects You

For previous generations, disposing of your property at death meant dealing with physical assets and intangible wealth such as cash or stocks. Today we also need to think about digital assets as part of our estate planning. Just think about how much of your life is kept online, from your…

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California Legislature Clarifies Pour-Over Will Laws

A living trust is a common California estate planning tool that helps you avoid probate. In theory a trust is relatively straightforward. You sign a document creating the trust and naming a trustee–usually yourself during your lifetime–and then transfer various assets into the trust. For major items like your home,…

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Can My Spouse Benefit From My Pension if We are Separated?

A legal separation or divorce can have a profound effect on your estate planning. Under the California Probate Code, a “surviving spouse” has no inheritance rights if there is an “order purporting to terminate all marital or registered domestic partnership property rights.” Put another way, if you die without leaving…

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How Estate Planning Affects Your Business Agreements With Family Members

Doing business with family members is always complicated. It can get even more complicated if one family member dies before a business transaction is completed. Most of us are understandably reluctant to push a legal matter, even one involving estate planning, when a relative is ill or possibly dying. Unfortunately,…

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Do Illegitimate Children Have Inheritance Rights Under California Law?

There was a time when only legitimate children–i.e., children born to a lawfully married couple–could inherit property from a parent. Modern law in California and most states have largely eliminated the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children, but it can still be an issue in some probate situations. For example,…

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How Does a Reverse Mortgage Affect My Will or Trust?

Living in southern California gets more expensive every year. For many elderly San Diego residents on a fixed income, just paying monthly bills can be a struggle. This is one reason “reverse mortgages” have become popular in recent years. How Reverse Mortgages Work Most of us have taken out a…

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