Blog
Estate Planning Without Children in California
Most estate planning conversations begin with children. For people without them, the conversation often begins with a...
Disclaiming an Inheritance in California Estate Planning
Estate plans are usually written around what each person will receive. The most thoughtful ones also consider a...
How a Right of First Refusal Works in a Trust
Many families own a place that means more than its appraisal. A house at Lake Tahoe where every summer happened. The...
The Seam Between One Generation’s Plan and the Next
Most families have more than one estate plan in play at any given time. Almost none of them have been looked at...
Ten Questions a Finished Estate Plan Still Raises
There is a particular kind of confidence that comes with having finished something. Especially an estate plan. The...
What an Estate Plan Says When No One Is There to Explain It
A well-made estate plan does two things. It directs, and it explains. The directing is the part everyone expects....
When an Adult Child’s Circumstances Change
Most estate plans are written at a particular moment, around a particular set of assumptions. Everyone is well....
Naming Someone Is Not the Same as Choosing Them
Most people approach this part of their plan as a question about relationships. Who would be hurt to be passed over....
Authority That Travels: When Someone Needs to Act for You Abroad
Most conversations about international estate planning are conversations about death. Which country's law governs a...
Estate Planning When Your Children Live in Different States
Many families today are spread across the country — parents in California, children building careers and raising...
Estate Planning After Remarriage
Remarriage offers another chance at love, stability, and building a life on your own terms. It also reshapes your...
Marital Agreements Versus Wills and Trusts: Which Do You Need?
If you are entering a marriage or remarriage with significant assets, children from a prior relationship, business...
The Window That Won’t Stay Open: Legal Planning When Memory Begins to Change
A dementia diagnosis — or even the early signs that something may be changing — tends to arrive as a medical concern...
The Call That Sounded Like a Scam — But Turned Out to Be an Inheritance
It had all the hallmarks of a scam. A call from a stranger claiming that a family had inherited land they never knew...
Has Your Estate Plan Kept Pace with Your Life?
An estate plan is not a document you sign once and set aside. Life moves — families change, assets shift, tax laws...
Buying, Downsizing, or Relocating? Three Estate Planning Steps That Can’t Wait
A change in real estate — whether you are purchasing a second home, downsizing to something more manageable, or...
A Lifetime of Belongings: The Estate Planning Conversation Most Families Skip
A lifetime of meaningful possessions is something to be proud of. The homes we have built, the collections we have...
Flying Solo: Why Estate Planning Still Matters and What to Do Next
Whether you are widowed, divorced, or have simply built a life on your own terms, estate planning as a single person...
