Probate Attorney Blog

Hopefully you’re outside enjoying the sunshine right now as if it’s Saturday because you have the day off tomorrow for Memorial Day! I thought it would be great to take a break from all the estate planning talk and take a second to thank all of the people that have given their life so that we can enjoy all of the freedom we have. America is the great place it is because we have people in the military not only…

Happy Sunday! I thought today we’d talk about the Health Care Directive, one of the foundational elements of estate planning. Why? Two reasons. First, it’s one of the hardest documents to understand when you read it (why do lawyers have to make everything so complicated?!?). Second, it’s one of the hardest choices to make because it makes the end of our lives very real. Let’s break it down. In English, the Health Care Directive (HCD) advises your Medical Power of…

Happy Sunday! This week we had three or four people ask about the generation skipping tax, which sparked a discussion in the office, which gave me a great idea for this week’s newsletter. So prepare to become generation skipping tax experts. Here we go! First, the generation skipping tax was created because, you guessed it, super rich people were skipping generations when distributing inheritances to save money on future estate taxes. See, if I have a lot of money and…

Happy Sunday! Before we get to today’s topic, I do have an announcement to make. CMS Law Firm, like all of us, is not static. People come and people go over time for all sorts of different reasons. And today I’m sad to announce that Mitchell Aoki, an attorney here at the firm, has left the team. He was a great guy and a great lawyer and he’s got a great future ahead of him. He just isn’t here anymore….

Happy Sunday! Today I thought I’d talk about the minimum assets one needs for estate planning. And the answer might surprise you. Because it’s basically nothing. Why? Estate planning doesn’t just cover you when you die (though even if you only have minimal assets – a bank account for example – you’d still want to have a beneficiary designation on that, which I’d consider to be estate planning). Estate planning also covers you if you are alive but incapacitated. And…

In case you weren’t paying attention to the calendar, this Wednesday is tax day! I wanted to give you two quick thoughts about that and let you enjoy the rest of your Sunday. First, there’s a great quote from Supreme Court Justice Learned Hand (yes, that’s his real name) from a 1934 case that says: Anyone may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will…

First things first, if you celebrate Easter, Happy Easter! And if you don’t, happy Sunday! It’s probably the best day of the year weather-wise so far, so get out and enjoy it! Okay, now let’s get down to business. I met with a wonderful elderly woman last week who was looking for some estate planning help. She told me a little about what she had going on, and for the most part she already had most everything taken care of….