An article that recently appeared in the ABA Journal described yet another disastrous consequence of a “do-it-yourself” estate plan.  In the Florida Supreme Court case of Basile v. Aldrich, the decedent drafted her own will with the “guidance” of an “E-Z Legal Form,” an online service that allows consumers to draft their own legal documents.  […]

The purpose of a financial Power of Attorney is to allow a third party to step into your shoes with regard to the management of your assets.  If you are unable or unwilling to handle certain financial tasks, you might want a legal mechanism to be able to delegate that authority to an agent.  Although […]

One of the primary purposes of estate planning is to make sure that your loved ones are able to manage your finances in the event of your incapacity or death in an efficient manner, free of unnecessary obstacles.  The last thing you want to do is to leave a “mess” that entangles your family or […]

I am always interested in celebrity estate planning blunders as they illustrate common pitfalls that a thorough and complete estate plan can avoid.  I have several posters in my office entitled, “Estate Planning Mistakes of the Rich and Famous.”  There are so many celebrity “counter-examples” that they keep printing new editions of that poster! Most […]

      Estate Planning is about everything you have and everybody who is important to you.  It is therefore important that your estate plan is comprehensive and addresses your needs.  Although many people believe that their situations are “simple” and that they do not need a “complicated” estate plan to effectively carry out their wishes in […]

Everybody appreciates a good deal.  However, some deals are easier to recognize than others.  When it comes to commodities such as automobiles, clothing, and groceries, it is rather easy to compare “apples to apples” in order to determine whether one supplier’s offer is better than another’s.  But when it comes to professional services, it is […]

I am currently President of the Board of Directors for Meals on Wheels of the Monterey Peninsula.  With so many dedicated board members, employees, donors, and volunteers, who make the organization what it is, I’m always curious as to why people decide to dedicate so much time to the agency.  I am a firm believer […]

The estate plans I draft are known to be long, comprehensive, and detailed.  When I present my clients with large binders that contain the various elements of their estate plans – a revocable living trust, wills, power of attorney documents, health care documents, and trust funding documents – they are surprised that their “simple” estates […]

In my last article, entitled “What’s Your Contingency Plan?,” I mentioned the fact that many people do not give much thought to how they would like their estates to be distributed in the event that their beneficiaries pre-decease them.  Until they really start to unpack their estate planning options, it’s rare for most people to […]

Despite the fact that I grew up on the Monterey Peninsula, I am a diehard Green Bay Packers fan.  A few weeks ago, my wife and I took an excursion to Wisconsin to attend a Packers game at the house that Vince Lombardi built, the “frozen tundra” of Lambeau Field.  I was looking forward to […]