Planning your estate is perhaps one of the most important things you can do for your family. Everything you’ve worked for throughout your life can continue to provide for your loved ones after you pass, but only if you handle your estate accordingly. While it’s tempting to cut costs with DIY estate planning forms, there
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When a person passes away, everything they own is transferred to others. How exactly that occurs, however, depends on different factors. When a person dies, their assets and wealth become their estate, which is appropriately distributed among their next of kin either according to their own wishes – as per proper documentation – or according
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An estate plan and make or break your family’s financial future. When misapplied, estate planning mistakes can cost your loved ones hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and lost assets. On the other hand, a well-executed estate plan can mean that nearly every cent of what you own flows flawlessly to your loved
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While not the most complex in the country, the probate process in California can be both frustrating and long-winded for many concerned with finding the best possible way to pass on their wealth to the next generation. Luckily, there are multiple California probate alternatives that ease the process. Probate occurs when a person dies, and
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Some make the mistake of thinking that estate planning is primarily about leaving behind an inheritance to designated beneficiaries. While a lot of it is about doing precisely that, there is more to it. Estate planning is often misunderstood as a collection of financial tools and tactics exclusive to those with the money to invest
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At its most basic, probate is the process by which a court determines that a last will and testament is legitimate and provable. Without a will present, the California probate process can also become a means by which to determine how an estate is best distributed. Yet while these two concepts seem quite simple, the
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The specifications surrounding the legalities of a U.S. will under foreign laws can become quite complicated. Some jurisdictions will accept a verbal will, some will not. Some jurisdictions require a notarized stamp, others will recognize the simple signature of the grantor. In the United States, the laws regarding the validity of a will can even
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Perhaps you’re looking ahead to the next stage of life and you’ve considered advance healthcare directives (AHCD), or maybe you think you have decades before you need to make decisions regarding your medical care. In either case, setting up an AHCD is an easy way to make your wishes known, ensure that your loved ones
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Like most legal documents, there is a lot to consider and keep in mind when finalizing your last will and testament. While a ‘last will’ doesn’t have to be your last piece of estate planning – you can amend and invalidate your will, if you so choose – the logistics around drafting and setting up
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It’s difficult to determine exactly how much of California’s population still seeks a divorce – while divorce rates have been plummeting across the country since the Great Recession began in 2008, couples do still continue to seek separation in cases where the differences in the relationship feel irreconcilable. In recent years, out of roughly 20,000,000
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