Digital assets and incapacity are now part of modern estate planning. Learn why passwords alone are not enough and how California law affects access to online accounts if you cannot manage them yourself. READ MORE
Giving or Leaving Money to a Loved One With Special Needs: Why a Special Needs Trust Matters
A well-intentioned gift or inheritance can create unexpected problems for a loved one with special needs. Learn how Special Needs Trusts, UTMA accounts, beneficiary designations, SSI, and Medi-Cal should be coordinated before assets are transferred. READ MORE
Should I Name My Spouse or My Trust as My Life Insurance Beneficiary?
Should your spouse receive your life insurance proceeds outright, or should the benefit pass through your trust? The right choice depends on how you want the money used, who you want to protect, and what should happen to any proceeds that remain later. READ MORE
Has Your Business Outgrown Its Legal Documents?
Your business may look very different from the company you started years ago, but do your legal documents reflect those changes? Here are the events that should prompt California business owners to review their governing documents, ownership arrangements, and succession planning. READ MORE
What Happens If You and Your Spouse Die at the Same Time in California?
What happens to your estate if you and your spouse die at the same time or only days apart? California law, your trust, survivorship provisions, asset ownership, and beneficiary designations can all affect who ultimately inherits. Here is what married couples should understand before the unexpected happens. READ MORE
Is Your Estate Plan Ready for an Emergency?
An emergency can leave your family making important medical, financial, and caregiving decisions with very little notice. Your estate plan should make those decisions easier, not harder. Here’s what California families should have in place before a crisis happens. READ MORE
Should You Leave an Inheritance in Trust for Adult Children?
Your adult children may be successful, responsible, and perfectly capable of managing an inheritance. That does not necessarily mean leaving everything outright provides the best protection. Learn how keeping an inheritance in trust can help protect family wealth while still giving adult children meaningful flexibility. READ MORE
What Happens to Your Business If You Cannot Work for Six Months?
What happens to your business if illness or injury keeps you from working for six months? For a business owner, disability planning involves much more than replacing lost income. Your insurance, legal authority, business operations, buy-sell agreement, and personal planning all need to work together. READ MORE
Life Insurance Beneficiary Review: Does Your Policy Still Match Your Estate Plan?
Life insurance is meant to protect the people you love, but a policy you purchased years ago may no longer fit your family or estate plan. Reviewing the coverage, beneficiaries, ownership, and trust provisions can help make sure the money reaches the right people with the protection you intended. READ MORE
California Small Business Legal Checklist: What to Review as Your Business Grows
Your business changes as it grows, but the legal, insurance, financial, and tax systems underneath it don’t always keep up. Use this California small business legal checklist to review what changed, identify gaps, and make sure your business and family are protected as you move into Q4. READ MORE
Naming a Trust as Your IRA Beneficiary: What the SECURE Act Means for Your Family
Naming a trust as the beneficiary of an IRA can provide valuable protection, but the SECURE Act changed the tax and distribution rules for inherited retirement accounts. California families should review whether their trust structure, beneficiary designations, and retirement planning still work together. READ MORE
You Made a Will. Here’s What It Can’t Do.
You made a will, and that’s an important step. But a will alone may not protect your family from probate, incapacity, outdated beneficiary designations, or an unfunded trust. Here’s what your will can’t do and the next steps to consider for a more complete Life & Legacy Plan. READ MORE
Estate Planning for Business Owners: What Happens to Your Business If Something Happens to You?
If you own a business, having a will is only one small part of protecting what you have built. A complete plan should address what happens if you die or become incapacitated, who has authority to keep the business running, how your ownership interest will be handled, and how your family will be protected. READ MORE
Estate Planning After Marriage: Why Your Prenup, Trust, and Beneficiary Designations Need to Work Together
Getting married can change much more than your relationship status. Your prenuptial agreement, trust, beneficiary designations, insurance, and other financial arrangements need to work together so your estate plan still reflects the life and family you have today. READ MORE
Before Q4: What California Business Owners Should Review Now
Late summer is an ideal time for California business owners to review what has changed before Q4 begins. Looking at legal agreements, insurance, finances, and tax planning together can help uncover gaps while there is still time to address them before year-end. READ MORE