Passing It On: Estate Planning for Families

Dave Ramsey recently said that unless you have a net worth in excess of $100 million, you probably don't have a need for trusts. As a California estate planning attorney, I have a very different perspective. One of the biggest misconceptions about living trusts is that they're only for extremely wealthy families. Estate tax planning and probate planning are two very different th...

What happens when someone receives a serious medical diagnosis, speaks with an estate planning attorney, and then decides to wait? In this video, I share another real-world estate planning story that almost ended very differently. A family contacted me after receiving a serious health diagnosis. We had a full consultation, discussed their options, reviewed how a living trust cou...

What happens when the people who created a living trust pass away and I am now the one in charge as trustee?

In this episode, I walk through what a successor trustee actually does after death, what trust administration looks like, and why a properly funded living trust can help a family avoid probate in California.

I explain why trust administration does not hap...

Control over your assets, your healthcare decisions, and your legacy — both while you are alive and after you pass away.

In this episode, I explain why estate planning is not just about what happens when you die. A proper estate plan actually gives you control during your lifetime if you become unable to make financial or healthcare decisions.I also walk through the ke...

If I left my child a million dollars tomorrow, would it actually be protected from divorce?

In this episode, I walk through how inheritance works in California — especially in a community property state like ours — and why simply leaving assets outright to your kids can create serious risk.

As an estate planning attorney here in California, I see this mistake al...