Watching a parent struggle with memory loss or cognitive decline is emotionally challenging—and it also raises important legal and financial questions. If your parent hasn’t updated their estate plan recently, decisions about healthcare, finances, and daily care could become complicated or fall into the wrong hands if left unaddressed and your parent becomes legally unable...
by Kevin Bayley “I don’t really have an estate,” some say when the topic of estate planning arises. You may have heard that the One Big Beautiful Bill passed last year makes the estate and gift tax exemption $15 million per person in 2026. You can pass that much money on when you die without...
by Kristen Terranova With the high cost of California real estate, it’s not uncommon for buyers to ask a parent or other family member to co-sign their loan. What should you do if you are asked to be a co-signer? First, consider the risks of co-signing. Job loss, illness, divorce, and other unexpected misfortunes can...
by Michelle Nguyen In recent years, California introduced a new estate planning tool that gives homeowners another way to pass on residential property upon their death without going through probate. When used correctly, a Revocable Transfer on Death Deed can simplify the estate planning process, reduce administrative costs, and make the transfer more straightforward for...
by Peggy Lennon This year, the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) directly increased the lifetime exclusion, which is the base amount that one can give free of federal gift and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax, either at lifetime or at death. The OBBB did not increase other dollar amounts in the estate, gift and GST tax...
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