Palm Springs Law Blog

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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.”

You’ve probably heard of the importance of estate planning, but you still may not know its real purpose. It is certainly true that estate planning is used to ensure that your loved ones receive your assets and are cared for after you pass away.

When you die intestate (without a Will), you have no control over who will receive what.
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While we know that the decision of what to name a child is extremely important, most people are unaware of the importance of naming your trust. Unlike other legal entities, such as corporations and LLCs, there are no laws when it comes to naming your trust. This is because your trust is not registered with the government.
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For those who own a home in the U.S., it’s a good idea to establish an estate plan in order to be sure that your home goes to whom you desire when you die.
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When someone is living with a disability that makes them unable to sustain gainful employment, Social Security Income (SSI), Medicaid (known as MediCal in California), and other government benefits can often help to put a roof over their head and food on their table. But in order to qualify for these benefits, the individual must make under a certain amount of money and must not have enough money to independently support them. Money sitting in their bank account can be counted against their ability to qualify.

Due to this situation, it essentially works to prevent people with special needs from building savings whether gained through inheritance, gifts or earned income. This begs the question of how can they save money without jeopardizing these benefits?

Special Needs Trust

One option is to create a Read more . . .