Who gets my stuff?
How do we think about whom we want to name as beneficiaries for our Wills and Trusts? For some people, it’s a no-brainer. A couple or single person may have lovely, well-adjusted children, and there’s no question that they will inherit it all. But one of the not-so-secret features of our society is that we don’t all have lovely, well-adjusted children. Leo Tolstoy wrote that “All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” I find that to be so true in estate planning. And, at the same time, I have some general advice. Gina is 80 years old and has had a lively,...
Read MoreMarriage and property
It was excellent news last year when a pair of Supreme Court decisions allowed same-sex marriage to remain legal in California, and for it to be recognized under federal law. I’m seeing lots of newly married and soon-to-be-married same sex couples for estate planning. Some of have been together for decades and have well-established ideas about how they want to own property and have it distributed after their deaths. Others are just starting to understand what it means, legally and financially, to be married in California. Marriage changes, among other things, one’s relationship to one’s...
Read MoreWhat is property?
It’s so much more than what many people think of when they hear that word. They may think it’s the house or their Tahoe time share or the motorcycle in the garage. Property is a legal term meaning anything one owns. In the law, traditionally, property falls into three categories: Real property which is buildings and land—you can pick up a brick or a clump of dirt—it’s “real”; Intangible personal property, which is cash and its equivalents. It’s sort of invisible (and, yes, it can easily disappear); and Tangible personal property: that’s anything you can touch, such as jewelry, artwork,...
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