Asset Management, Trusts, Spouses

Divorce Need Not Ignite Estate Litigation, But Too Often It Does

The Estate Lawyers on 12/6/2024

Certain life events demand that estate planners work with client testators to adjust their estate plans. Divorce and remarriage are at the top of that list. When matrimony devolves into acrimony – setting the stage for...more

The Estate Planner, September/October 2022

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP on 9/6/2022

Estate planning for the happily married - Hedge your bets with a SLAT One of the biggest challenges of estate planning is dealing with uncertainty. For 2022, for example, the federal gift and estate tax exemption is $12.06...more

Protecting Your Inheritance

Ruder Ware on 9/21/2021

So you’ve received an inheritance and you’re married. The person who left you the inheritance probably intended for it to benefit you, not your spouse, if you get divorced. How do you protect the inheritance?...more

Yours, Mine, and Ours: Estate Planning for Blended Families

Ward and Smith, P.A. on 4/15/2021

According to recent statistics, four out of every ten families are blended families. As you might expect, estate planning for blended families is often complicated. Proper planning requires not only careful financial and...more

The Importance of Regular Check-ups for a Healthy Estate Plan

Shutts & Bowen LLP on 10/26/2020

After creating and implementing a plan for your estate, it is important to regularly revisit your plan to ensure that it is still reflective of your values and goals for passing along your legacy. Seemingly small changes in...more

Your Slice of the Pizza – Only Directly Inherited Asset Qualifies as Separate Property

Downey Brand LLP on 11/26/2019

It is widely understood in California that inherited assets, unlike assets earned from labor, are the separate property of the receiving spouse. But what if the assets do not come directly from a parent and instead pass from...more

Stepmother vs. Stepchild, Now Playing in a California Probate Court Near You

Downey Brand LLP on 4/24/2018

Stepmothers are frequent characters in California trust and estate litigation, as they are in fairy tales and Disney movies. With about half of all marriages ending in divorce, there are many stepmother/stepchild...more

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