Especially in the beginning stages of building a family, legal documentation is not often top of mind. However, for young families, establishing a comprehensive estate plan is an important and proactive step toward...more
Creating a last will and testament is the first step in creating an estate plan – a critical planning tool to ensure that your wishes are honored and that your loved ones are cared for after your death....more
February 2022 Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split-Interest Charitable Trusts....more
Following the untimely death last year of his father Big Daddy Bux due to COVID-19, brother Hustler Bux was appointed independent executor of Big Daddy’s Will. When Hustler asked for a judicial discharge, sister Kathy...more
Those of us who watched AMC’s hit drama “Breaking Bad” may recall the scene in the pilot episode where Walt and Jesse set out to dissolve a dead body in hydrofluoric acid. Jesse neglects to take Walt’s (the chemistry...more
It seems like our world becomes more digital each day. We can manage almost every aspect of our lives online. But, unless you have updated your estate plan in the last few years, chances are good that your estate planning...more
I haven’t written about digital assets in a while and I was reminded of the importance of putting digital assets into your estate plan this week in a conversation with a colleague....more
While business owners frequently devote substantial resources to growing their business, they often forget to think of themselves along the way. Originally published in The Press-Enterprise and other Southern California...more
The sudden death of Alexander Calderwood, the brilliant but troubled co-founder of the Ace brand of hotels, resulted in some fierce litigation between Calderwood’s estate and Calderwood’s LLC co-member over the nature of his...more
The days, weeks, and months after the death of a loved one can be emotional and stressful, especially if you are named the executor of your deceased family member or friend’s estate. ...more
A nominated executor is obliged to secure estate assets even before the issuance of letters testamentary, or preliminary letters testamentary (see Matter of Schultz, 104 AD3d 1146 [4th Dept. 2013]). Courts have recognized...more
Powers of attorney and trust instruments have each been the subject of many an estate plan. They each have also been the subject of multiple estate litigations. In combination, the two have served as fodder for controversies...more
Very often, when the proponent of a will (and sometimes even the attorney-draftsperson or witness) is questioned about the decedent’s mental state and the decedent’s instructions, the reflexive response is that the decedent...more
December Interest Rates for GRATs, Sales to Defective Grantor Trusts, Intra-Family Loans and Split Interest Charitable Trusts - The December § 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs...more
On September 24, 2016, the Governor of California approved the California Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, which “would authorize a decedent’s personal representative or trustee to access and manage...more