Palm Springs Law Blog

When you’ve worked for years to build your business, it’d be difficult to imagine it ceasing once you retire or pass away. That’s why many business owners consider leaving their businesses to their families, namely their children. A successful business can provide an abundance of financial security for your loved ones. However, since proper estate planning is so important for business owners, it’s best to establish a Read more . . .

Creating a trust is a great way to find peace of mind for both you and your loved ones, ensuring that they are taken care of. However, in order for the trust that you’ve established to be able to help in the way you’ve intended, it’s really important that it’s funded.

When a trust isn’t funded it often requires probate court if you become incapacitated or pass away.
Read more . . .

Minors in California (those under 18) may not directly own assets. However, they can own them through a guardian. For example, a minor’s name can be on a bank account so long as it is also opened in the joint name of their adult guardian.

Another way in which minors can indirectly own assets is by being the beneficiary of a Trust. In fact, most people create Read more . . .

Divorce and remarriage are common and can certainly be for the best. However, blended families can make estate planning a bit more difficult. That’s why it’s so important to talk to your loved ones if you are thinking about getting married again.
Read more . . .

There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to estate planning. While many people consider creating a will or a trust, they don’t often know of the possibility to create a Letter of Last Instruction.

A will and a trust are legal documents that discuss how and to whom an individual wants their assets to be distributed after they pass.
Read more . . .

While sometimes a bit tough to think about, it’s really important to understand Advance Health Care Directives and end-of-life decisions. After all, everyone should be entitled to live their life as they choose, right down to the very end. There are two options when it comes to end-of-life decisions: to prolong life or not to prolong life.
Read more . . .

When a loved one has special needs, it's important to ensure that they are protected even after you are gone. Many parents, wanting to care for their children with special needs, will leave their children with disabilities a large inheritance.

However, while ensuring that a loved one who has special needs receives enough financial resources to meet their long-term care needs, it’s also important not to risk losing the eligibility for them to receive governmental aid, such as California’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Medicaid program, Medi-Cal.
Read more . . .

When a loved one passes away and you find that you are a beneficiary of his or her estate, you may not know whether you need an attorney or not. While there may already be an attorney involved, he or she is likely acting in the interest of either the executor (if there is a will) or the trustee (if there is a trust). So when should you consider hiring an estate planning attorney to represent you personally? Here are 5 reasons.
Read more . . .

While it’s always in your best interest to begin estate planning sooner rather than later, sometimes it doesn’t always happen. So what happens if you have a loved one who lacks a Will or a Trust but is currently diagnosed with dementia?

In order to create an estate-planning document of any kind, it’s required that the individual doing so have the necessary mental capacity. When someone has dementia, it qualifies as a mental defect that could diminish his or her legal capacity.
Read more . . .

There are many things that go into owning a business. One such thing is a business succession plan. A business succession plan is a legal document that provides what is to happen should there be a change in ownership of the business.
Read more . . .

While we generally create trusts to hold assets for our heirs to receive at a certain point, sometimes we want the opportunity to change the trust during our lifetime. Many things can change in life and sometimes these changes are enough to want to alter your trust. You can do so, but only with a “revocable trust.”