Palm Springs Law Blog

As you make a living, you likely contribute a percentage of your income each paycheck to your retirement fund. If you work for yourself, you (hopefully) put away an amount of money for the same each month. As a result, your retirement ends up being one of your largest assets.

While most people worry that they haven’t saved enough money to comfortably retire, others worry about what may happen to their retirement assets should they not use them all prior to passing. This begs the question of what happens to your retirement funds in the probate process?

While most assets go through the probate process, not all of them do.
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While marriage used to be standard for cohabitation, such is no longer the case. Many people choose to cohabitate with each other without being married. However, despite the absence of a marriage certificate, long-term partners or companions are often as dedicated and connected as those who are married. The main difference though is that Read more . . .

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to wage war on the American economy, small businesses are feeling the effects. Many business owners are left wondering about the future of their companies. But with so much else going on, they often fail to proactively plan for the future. Now is a great time to do so. Even after navigating through the era of coronavirus, if small business owners fail to establish an estate plan, some day when they die, the business will simply die with them.
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From unclogging a toilet to building a house, with the Internet and sites like YouTube being more popular than ever, you can pretty much figure out how to do anything yourself. This can prove extremely helpful when you want answers now – and want to save money in the process. However, it’s important to understand what you should – and shouldn’t – do yourself.

One thing you shouldn’t DIY: your Read more . . .

One of the most important responsibilities that a parent has is to look out for the safety and wellbeing of his or her children. This is why it is so important to prepare for the guardianship of your child. Guardianship is the legal process that allows an individual who is named to serve as the final decision maker for another person.

But while consideration should be given to whom you wish to assign the position to, special consideration should be given for those who have children with special needs. People with Read more . . .

When we pass away someday, we often hope that our assets can be provided to those whom we love. The last thing that we want is for those very individuals to get into a dispute over the estate. Unfortunately though, this can occur even within the closest families often due to the emotional strain that is often experienced when grieving.

Not only can these family feuds prove devastating for relationships, but they can also cost you a lot of time and a lot of money. Estate disputes can even drain resources and leave your loved ones without the close relationships they once shared – let alone the gifts you intended for them to have.
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As a proud melting pot of the world, the U.S. often becomes home to non-U.S. citizens.
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When a marriage breaks down it can be really difficult. Divorces are commonly messy. Things can get even more contentious when there are children involved. Figuring out child custody can be difficult for everyone involved. But what happens when the custody you’re battling over is a companion animal?

It can be tough to figure out the custody of companion animals because they have historically been considered as property rather than family members by family courts.
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Dementia is a word used to explain a set of symptoms such as memory loss, a decline in problem-solving skills, and unclear thinking. It serves as the umbrella term to a number of diseases. One such disease that can be considered a type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition to Alzheimer’s, common causes of dementia also include:

• Parkinson’s Disease Dementia
• Vascular Dementia
• Mixed Dementia
• Huntington’s Disease
• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Dementia with Lewy Bodies

Planning Ahead with Alzheimer’s or Dementia

Though it can be quite difficult to picture your future (or the future of your spouse) with dementia, it is exceedingly important. This is because without

We’re now living in an Amazon world. What was once done in person is now done online. We use our computers and electronic devices to do just about anything and everything. One such thing that has also migrated to an electronic format: forms. Many industries now rely upon electronic filings, commonly referred to as e-filing, in order to store important information.
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Most of us know that it is very important to have a Will. For many, this is a necessary document for estate planning. But while Wills are in fact an important estate planning document, they are not the only important part of an estate plan.
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