A trustee is a legal term used in estate planning.  The trustee is the person or persons who manage the decisions and fulfill the purpose of a trust.  It is usually the surviving spouse when the first spouse passes away and then another party when the last surviving spouse is gone.  The goal is that…

I met with a couple in their mid-thirties last week.  They are planning their first vacation without their small children and realized they had no written estate planning documents. Frantic, they came to me to get a will or something “simple” to “cover” them in the event they both died in some tragic accident. After…

Have minor children? You should have a written Legal Guardian document to be sure the person(s) you wish to care for your children is first in line. Without a properly drafted and signed guardianship designation, your children will be caught up in the court system where the court will determine who has the legal right…

What's the difference between a Living Trust and a Revocable Trust? The answer is simple. There is no difference. My opinion is that lawyers coined the name "Living" trusts because "Revocable" was too confusing to most people. The term living implies before death, so it is easier for people to understand. A "Revocable" trust is...

I learned a lesson when I first started practicing estate planning law.  Always, always, always run a title search on all client real property to make sure there are no problems. Many people record deeds over time that supposedly change title to property.  Quit claim deeds to ex-spouses, gifts to children, adding a new spouse…

As of January 1, 2016, there is a new estate planning tool available to residents in California.  It’s called a “transfer on death”, or TOD deed.  The TOD deed allows owners of certain residential real property to name one or more beneficiaries to receive title to the property upon death, thus avoiding the need to…