by Christine Brown | Aug 16, 2018 | Guardianships, Trusts |
People often struggle with deciding who will serve as guardian for their minor children if they pass away. As Los Angeles County trust lawyers, we’ve walked hundreds of LA families through this process. Sometimes, the family situation requires naming not just one...
by Christine Brown | Aug 9, 2018 | Estate Planning, Inheritance, Probate |
The majority of people we see in our Torrance estate planning law firm name their adult children as beneficiaries of their estate plan. In most cases, this works well because children typically outlive their parents. But, what happens when a child dies before the...
by Christine Brown | Jul 30, 2018 | Special Needs Children, Special Needs Planning, Special Needs Trusts, Uncategorized |
I’ve written many times about the importance of selecting the right person to serve as trustee for a Special Needs Trust in LA County. The trustee will need to make distributions, file tax returns, and carry out numerous other duties that go along with administering a...
by Christine Brown | Jul 23, 2018 | Estate Planning, Living Will, Wills |
Here in Torrance, living will attorneys know full well the ramifications of not planning ahead for an unexpected disability. Even those clients who understand the importance of estate planning tend to overlook what would happen if they should become unable to care...
by Christine Brown | Jul 13, 2018 | Executor, Probate |
An executor is chosen by a testator to carry out the intentions of the will after the testator has died. It’s fairly easy to replace an executor when the testator is still alive – all the testator has to do is simply name a new executor. However, this becomes far more...
by Christine Brown | Jul 9, 2018 | Estate Planning, Wills |
As a Manhattan Beach will lawyer, I advise that it’s always best 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. Often, however, these people’s...
by Christine Brown | Jun 29, 2018 | Probate |
It’s always painful when a loved one passes. After death, there’s also the legal obligation of administering an estate, which often includes probate. Los Angeles County probate is the process in which the decedents’ estate is settled and distributed to those entitled...
by Christine Brown | Jun 22, 2018 | Estate Planning, Wills |
When it comes to estate planning, most people think of streams of income that are typical, such as current employment, retirement plans, and bank accounts. These obviously need to be included. But, there are other, less obvious types of income that some people forget....
by Christine Brown | Jun 15, 2018 | Beneficiary, Inheritance, Wills |
As a Torrance will and trust lawyer, I’ve worked with many grandparents interested in leaving a legacy behind for their grandchildren. A lot of people are surprised when I tell them they could be causing more harm than good if they aren’t careful. Imagine this for a...
by Christine Brown | Jun 8, 2018 | Estate Planning, Power of Attorney |
Adding your child to your bank account seems like common sense so they can help with paying bills. This is convenient, but what people often don’t realize is that the child will have more authority than to just sign checks. Adding your child to your bank account means...
