Selecting the Right Trustee
A typical misconception about estate planning is that people who are considered older should be concerned with them and that there is always time to go and create a will or trust. The problem with that thought process is that estate plans are much more than the passing of assets to another person. Estate plans […]
Dying without a Will in California
If a resident of California passes away without having an executing a will or revocable living trust, California has an entire set of laws in the Probate Code, known as “intestacy” to determine who will get your estate. The intestate laws have a series of questions to be answered do determine who can inherit the […]
Estate Planning for Childless Couples
The Wall Street Journal recently had an article entitled “Estate Planning for Childless Couples” that emphasizes the importance of different estate planning tools for your personal situation. I often tell people who do not have children that estate planning may have even more important repercussions for them than people with children because if you die […]
Memorial Day Weekend Discounts
For Memorial Day, Marinaccio Law is offering a 10% discount on all estate planning services for current U.S. military, U.S. military veterans, and law enforcement. Marinaccio Law offers a variety of services for estate planning, including drafting revocable living trusts, wills, advanced healthcare directives, and powers of attorney. This discount is good through May 30, […]
Probate, Inheritances, and Property Taxes
The title to the article sums up USA Today’s article Divorce, Death, and Donald Sterling’s Boyhood Home. The article describes several properties in Boyle Heights still owned by Donald Sterling’s deceased mother and grandmother. In California, property taxes are determined by “assessed value,” which is derived from the fair market value of a property at the time […]
Important Estate Planning Questions for Spouses
Dailyfinance.com has an interesting article entitled 3 Important Estate Planning Questions which provides three questions that are important for all spouses to discuss when drafting an estate plan. The first question, “How well does my spouse know our financial advisor?” is a good question to discuss how both spouses should know their “estate planning” team. Although the […]
Why Hiring an Attorney Can Save You Money on Your Estate Plan
Forbes has an interesting article, Careful, Thoughtful Drafting Essential in Estate Planning. It provides an interesting glimpse into do-it-yourself estate plans with the advice of an attorney. In California, a person can draft their own will in their own handwriting and can even draft a “statutory will” that is a fill-in-the blanks will (there are certain rules […]
Painless Estate Planning
CNN has a great article entitled “10 Steps to Painless Estate Planning” which discusses many of the issues I have discussed in past blog posts. It highlights the importance of having a written estate plan, including a will and a revocable living trust, amending these documents when necessary, and creating a power of attorney and advance […]
Mistakes in Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Estate Planning
Celebrity deaths are often followed by a very public battle between heirs over the celebrity’s assets, fame, and residual income. This CNBC article entitled “Here’s Why Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Will is a ‘Mess’” helps others not make the same mistakes. Mistake Number 1 Hoffman’s will is over a decade old. Wills should be changing documents […]
When to Change the Names of Beneficiaries on Accounts
This interesting article on Marketwatch entitled Don’t Make the No. 1 Estate Planning Goof offers an interesting insight into making sure that you change the names of beneficiaries to accounts that are payable upon death. Examples of such accounts include most retirement accounts (401(k)s, Roth IRAs, IRAs), life insurance policies, some mutual funds, life insurance, certain bank […]
