The firm’s blog
Plain-English estate planning
Straight answers to the questions California families and business owners actually ask about wills, trusts, guardians, and probate.
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Should You Leave an Inheritance in Trust for Adult Children?
Your daughter is a physician with a growing practice. Your son is an attorney on the path to partnership. Your youngest built a company that now employs 14 people. You are proud of all of them. You trust their judgment, and you want their inheritance to strengthen the lives they have worked hard to build.…
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Your Trust Could Reach the 37% Tax Bracket at Just $16,000
You did the work. You saved for retirement, signed a trust, and named beneficiaries because you wanted the people you love to be protected. That matters. Here is a pattern that deserves some attention. Someone brings in a plan they created years ago. Their Individual Retirement Account (IRA) has become one of their largest assets,…
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Is a Will Enough? Your Post-Will Planning Checklist
You Made a Will. Here’s What It Can’t Do. You did it. Maybe Make-A-Will Month finally moved it to the top of your list. Maybe you’ve been meaning to get this done for years and this was the month it finally happened. Either way, you sat down, signed the documents, and walked out with something…
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Make-A-Will Month Is Here. But a Will Isn’t a Plan.
A will is an important first step, but it may not protect your family from probate, incapacity, or gaps in guardianship. Learn what a complete plan requires.
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What Happens to Debt When You Die: What Families Must Know
Your debt does not pass to heirs automatically, but creditors claim the estate before anyone inherits. Here is what actually happens to each kind of debt.
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Who Would Raise Your Kids If You Couldn’t? (What You Don’t Know About the First 72 Hours)
You’ve thought about who would raise your kids if something happened to you. Naming them in your head and naming them legally are two very different things.