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Who Is Responsible for Your Debt After Your Death? Debt does not disappear when you die.

[1] But you can use strategies, before and after you retire, to limit the amount of tax that you pay on Social Security benefits. Keep reading to find out what you can do, starting today, to minimize the amount of income tax that you pay after retiring. Key Take Issues Up to 50% of Social ...

If you own a small family business, you've probably heard of “buy-sell agreements.” In fact, your professional advisers may have mentioned the need for one. A buy-sell agreement has three main functions: To ensure an orderly transfer of your business when you die; To set a value on the busi...

Does incorporating still make sense when you're a sole proprietor?

Rising home prices in Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel and other Orange County cities have propelled more home owners to protect that equity with living trusts.

When a spouse is a non-citizen it presents a problem in that there is no unlimited marital deduction if a spouse is not a U.S. citizen. The potential loss of the marital deduction could result in the surviving spouse suffering great loss of the estate. While we often look to the QDoT (Qualifie...

Families in Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel and other cities in Orange County are keeping their children safe by making sure they have comprehensive legal documents naming guardians.     A good comprehensive estate plan that protects your children will include naming guardians but also providing them with health care powers of attorney over your children in case there is a need for health care immediately. This is often a gap in many plans as there should be 4 core ...

We may become Terminally, Chronically or Critically Ill Men have a 1 in 2 risk of developing cancer during their lifetime and women have a 1 in 3 risk.1 Every 30 seconds a new cancer is diagnosed in the U.S1 Every 40 seconds someone suffers a stroke.2 Every 26 seconds someone suffers a h...

While either a Will or a Revocable Living Trust enable you to name someone to handle your financial affairs and distribute assets to beneficiaries at your death (an "Executor" or "Personal Representative" in a Will or a successor "Trustee" in a Revocable Living Trust), a Will only operates at dea...

Children 18 or older are not longer children. A parent no longer has any rights over their finances, privacy or health care unless they get proper legal documents in place. There are three key documents to have before your child heads off to the dorms. Can you even imagine…? Your son or daughter goes off to college, gets into a very serious car accident and is sent to the ER. And when you call, frantically, to find out if he or she's okay... Nurse: “How old is your son/daughter?” You: “He/She just turne...

Never add your children to title of your home unless you're ready to transfer the entire property to them. By the way; you missed the boat on doing that to avoid Proposition 19 so you might as well hang on to title but use your living trust.     If I add my child's name to the title of my house🏠, wouldn't that be the easiest way to avoid probate and transfer it quickly after I die? Short answer: NO!Here's the scoop: You're running a lot of risk when you do this. Take these into consideration:❌ Want...

The living Trust or the concept of using a trust can be traced back in history to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. We can trace trust history as far back as Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Prior to the Norman Conquest, English law was different, but with the Norman Conquest William decreed that he, as King, owned all the land. From time to time he gave control to others to administer his lan...

The oldest known will was discovered in Egypt by archeologist William Matthew "Flinders" Petrie in 1890. It was dated by scientists to have been made in 1797 B.C. by a man by the name of Ankh-ren. We then find in the Code of Justinian, collections of laws and legal interpre...

February 16, 2021 became the deadline for any title changes in order to avert the consequences of proposition 19 which again eliminates the inter-generational transfer protection from property tax reassessment. Now the only way children can inherit your home is if they physically move into it...

The result of Proposition 19 is that Proposition 58 is cancelled which provided inter-generational transfer protection (e.g., Parent-child) without property tax reassessment.  Prop 19 Effects 02/16/2021 In order to receive an exemption  on reassessment the following must occur: The parent m...

California voted on Proposition 19 this November, and it passed with 51% of the vote.[1] The Proposition gives new property tax breaks to older homeowners, gives relief to disabled Californians and those affected by wildfires, but strips tax breaks from certain individuals who inherit homes.[2] T...

We finally solved one of the missing pieces of the puzzle. After years of seeing estate plan documents go missing, destroyed or misplaced we've created cloud lockers as a place to store your documents and preserve them from all types of difficulties so that they remain ready for your family when ...

👨‍👩‍👧 Nobody will ever love or know your children better than you do. And it's going to be really hard finding a guardian who matches all of your opinions when it comes to religion, money, values, etc. So how do you make sure that your guardian knows how you want your children to be r...

“My husband just passed away. What do I do?” Taking action after your loved one passes can be tough and confusing.  So we made this simple checklist of what needs to be done within 30 days. Please share with anyone who you feel might need it, or is going through the grieving proces...

Did you know?? These two documents sound the same, but they are completely different legal documents that serve separate purposes. A Living Will describes your medical wishes if you're unable to express them on your own. A Living Trust is used to transfer property to loved ones outside of the ...

Clients routinely want a no-contest clause in their estate plan just in case someone wants to challenge the estate. However, in the state of California there is not going to be an exclusive bar to challenge and there are some instances where you need to keep the option open for your beneficiary; ...

This new type of currency or investment has added to the list of estate planning mistakes and is why it pays to hire professionals. This estate planning mistake is so costly and why we encourage our clients to make their passwords accessible (digitally in an online vault) to their Successor Trust...

Under previous law, a non-spouse beneficiary could take distributions from an inherited IRA over the beneficiary's life expectancy, resulting in advantageous income tax deferral (we called it the “stretch”). Under the SECURE Act, the “stretch” for most non-spouse beneficiaries has been reduced to...

A taxpayer may arrrange his business affairs in a way to minimize his taxes; and if such arrangements are not shams, the courts should be hesitant to disregard form and exalt substance. Haley v. United States, 400 F.Supp 111 (1975). Just as a taxpayer may structure his affairs to minimize ta...

The SECURE Act expands the definition of qualified higher education expenses to include student loan payments and costs of apprenticeship programs, leaving more options for families. The funds in a 529 can also be used to pay for room and board, books and supplies, special services, and computers...