Do You Need a Trust?
You probably recognize that you will eventually need a will. You might already have one that you drafted when you became a parent or faced a brush with mortality or the loss of a loved one. We’ll explore wills in greater depth in another post, but here we’d like to zero in on arguably the most essential—and confusing—component of California estate planning: the trust.
What Is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust?
Wills and trusts are the basic building blocks of estate planning. Both wills and trusts can be used by people to arrange for their assets to pass to others after death. Although they are both used for estate planning, they are very different documents. Wills and trusts are created and operate in distinctly different ways.
Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Orders
The California Welfare & Institutions Code allows a court to issue an Elder or Dependent Adult Abuse Restraining Order to prevent recurring physical, emotional or financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult. Such an order can include “no contact,” “stay-away” and “move-out” orders. Read on to find out more about this process.
Ways to Hold Title to Real Property in California
Ownership of real estate can be complicated. How your real property is held—whether in a trust or by joint tenancy, tenancy in common or community property, with or without right of survivorship—affects how you may transfer it during your lifetime or after your death and can result in significant tax consequences for your heirs.
Demystifying the Law Office
I’m writing this post in the hope that demystifying the process through which estate planning is carried out in our office—and in many law offices like ours—might help you take action. Read on to find out what will happen if you reach out to Caplan Wilkinson or a firm like it.
Recognizing Phone Scams
You might think that as long as you don’t provide information like Social Security or bank account numbers over the phone, you’re safe from phone scammers. But with advances in technology, even speaking a few words can arm a scammer with the ability to rip you off—by cloning your voice. The best way to protect yourself is to send all calls from unfamiliar numbers straight to voicemail.