Modern Estate Planning Blog

If you have an elder in your life, chances are you’ve felt the need to keep an eye out for them. With scams galore these days, it’s increasingly dangerous to trust anyone.

It's not uncommon for families to come to us with an interest in Medi-Cal planning for themselves or a loved one.

Proper planning for a loved one, be it a child or adult, with a disability or degenerative disease is critical to provide for the time when you can no longer be here.

Recently a client came in to change her estate plan. Among the reasons was that one of her children had recently filed for bankruptcy and she didn’t want the inheritance to be taken. Smart client!

Plenty of everyday Americans own property or assets in other countries, and it may become part of their estates when they pass on. There are special considerations to keep in mind when including foreign property and assets in one’s estate.

In a rare instance of bipartisan cooperation, Congress recently passed a law that will expand benefits to individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans who have chronic illnesses.

If you are over 70 ½ years old, you can donate some or all over your IRA to an eligible special needs charity or non-profit of your choice. Using a Qualified Charitable Distribution, you can donate directly from your IRA to the charity.

This may sound like a situation from a movie, but it happens more than you can imagine: a long-lost child appears after the death of their parent.

It’s no secret that the elderly are a favorite target of scam artists. Criminals will troll the internet and phone lists looking for seniors that are easy to prey upon due to an illness, disability, or cognitive impairment.

Sometimes teens and adults with disabilities may require the help of others to make daily decisions on their own behalves. When this happens, a conservator is named by the courts who can oversee the individual’s finances and personal care.

One of the most common questions we receive here at the Chubb Law Firm is “How can I avoid Sacramento County probate?” It’s a hot topic because the California probate process can be long, complex, very public, and costly.

There’s good news for vulnerable seniors in California and across the country. As part of a larger bipartisan bill on banking reform, the Senior Safe Act was signed into law during the month of May.

Money is usually the last thing that someone grieving over the loss of a loved one wants to think about. However, death comes with expenses, and most people haven’t taken the time to prepare for them.

Many people love timeshares. That is, the option to be a part owner of a property which is used for getaways and vacations.

A lot of parents come into our Folsom estate planning law firm with mixed feelings about passing on the balance of their retirement accounts to their children when they die someday.

What happens when a child dies before the parent? What becomes of the inheritance that a parent plans to leave behind?

People often struggle with deciding who will serve as guardian for their minor children if they pass away. Sometimes, the family situation requires naming not just one guardian, but two.

Selecting the right person to serve as a trustee for a Special Needs Trust is important, as he/she will need to make distributions, file tax returns and carry out numerous other duties that go along with administering a trust.

Any interested party that wishes to remove an executor would have to petition the probate court to have the executor removed and present a reason. It’s best to have a Sacramento probate lawyer advise you first and help you with this petition.

It’s always best practice for a person to write down one’s intentions for their property when they die. However, many people still die intestate (without a will), and their intentions aren’t known.