When is it Too Late to Protect Assets for Medicaid or Public Benefits?
Categorizing Estate Assets in California
Probate in California is extremely expensive. By categorizing estate assets in California carefully, it can be possible to avoid probate or minimize the assets that have to pass through the courts. A California estate planning attorney can show you how to set up your estate plan to decrease much of the cost of...
When and Why to Say No to California Estate Planning Web Documents
Smoothly Transferring Estate Assets in California
What Happens if I Fail to Fund My Trust?
Revocable trusts have become an increasingly popular probate-avoidance tool among California residents. Under the umbrella of a revocable trust, assets are protected from passing through a lengthy and costly probate process. However, this only holds for assets retitled in the name of the trust.
An experienced California estate planning attorney can easily...
Is a Revocable Transfer on Death Deed Valid in California?
California has historically provided four options for the transfer of real property upon a property owner’s death:
joint tenancy agreements community property with right of survivorship wills living trustsHowever, in January 2016, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 139, allowing a fifth option for the non-probate transfer of property to a designated beneficiary, known as the...
How Does a Will Compare to a Trust?
A will and a trust are both ways to protect your heirs and make sure that the people you want to inherit from you do so, but there are quite a few differences between wills and trusts. If you do not have either a valid will or trust when you die, you are intestate,...
What Are Special Powers of Attorney?
Special powers of attorney grant the agent limited authority to person a specific task or category of actions. The agent is the person the power of attorney names to take action on behalf of the principal. The principal is the person who makes and signs the power of attorney. Another term for special power...
How Is My VA Pension Counted for Medi-Cal Purposes?
In most cases, a VA pension is counted as income when California determines eligibility for non-MAGI Medi-Cal programs, which evaluate both income and assets instead of relying on Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). These programs commonly apply to older adults and people with disabilities.
VA service-connected disability compensation is...
How to Prevent Elder Abuse
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that elder abuse is a significant problem in the United States, but there are things we can do to prevent it. If you suspect that an older loved one might be the victim of elder abuse, you should not look the other way. Most...