you and your family in
transitional and difficult times.
Choosing a Trustee
By Tirzah Woodward
One of the most important, and sometimes difficult, decisions you will make in estate planning is choosing a trustee. Your trustee handles your estate if you become disabled or after you die. Here is what to look for in selecting … Continue reading
Planning For Your Pets
By Tamara PolleyYou may have put the rest of your affairs in order, but have you made plans for your pets? Hopefully, by now you have created a basic estate plan by doing the following: Signing Durable Powers of Attorney to make … Continue reading
Property Taxes
By Tamara PolleyIt’s that time of year again, when homeowners pay their annual property taxes … Happy holidays! This year we are faced with two things we don’t want to think about in these tough economic times: taxes and reduced property values. … Continue reading
Living Trust and Power of Attorney
By Tirzah WoodwardEstate planning is more than just transferring assets to your loved ones upon your death. Perhaps more importantly, good estate planning includes choosing the right people to manage your financial affairs in the event you cannot do so. Most estate … Continue reading
The Ins and Outs of Probate
By Jim GianelliProbate is a court process set up to assure that upon one’s death, assets get distributed to the people in one’s will (or in absence of a will, to one’s legal heirs), creditors get paid, and disputes are settled. Probate … Continue reading
Medi-Cal Benefits for Long-Term Care
By Tamara PolleyThe article Long Term Care Cost that Jim wrote outlined Medi-Cal benefits for long-term skilled nursing care. To receive these benefits, an applicant must have limited resources. What if you have too much money to qualify, but not enough to … Continue reading
Communicate Clearly
By Tirzah WoodwardHopefully you’ve followed the advice in our past articles … but you’re not done yet! Here are a few more tips vital to proper estate planning, and to ensuring that your survivors can easily honor your wishes. Keep documents up … Continue reading
Starting The Process
By Jim GianelliWhen it comes to planning your estate, it’s best to start the process with an estate planning attorney, preferably a state-certified specialist. But other advisors may play a vital role: your accountant, banker, insurance agent, financial advisor or broker. You … Continue reading
Death of a Spouse
By Jim GianelliYour spouse has died, and whether or not the death was sudden and unexpected or gradual and expected, you are in shock. Your mind is just not working quite right. The realization of what has happened – and the grief … Continue reading
Long-Term Care Cost
By Jim GianelliDid you know you can lose your home to the state as a result of the state paying your long-term care costs? Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence. Let’s discuss the problem and ways to avoid it. Consider this real … Continue reading