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Benefit Claims to be Easier for Veterans With Brain Injuries
New regulations published in the Federal Register last December will ease the process of receiving health care and compensation for veterans who suffer or have suffered from a variety of illnesses that are caused by a traumatic brain injury (“T.B.I.”). As reported in The New York Times, the new regulations will provide expanded benefits to […]
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How to Give Away Your Home
A common estate planning question is whether it is better to allow your heirs to inherit your home, or give it to them as a gift. This article in the Los Angeles Times addresses that question. Generally, it is better to let your child inherit homes that have appreciated in value since your original […]
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Estate Planning For Married Couples and Domestic Partners – Party of One?
When it comes to structuring estate plans, a potentially awkward but necessary question to ask is whether you and your spouse will seek joint or separate representation. This article in Forbes discusses how you and your spouse might go about answering that question. Joint representation for estate planning has many benefits. First, it is generally […]
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Don’t Lock Out Your Executor!
Although most estate planning continues to be performed on paper, make no mistake that we are living in a paperless world. This simple fact makes it exceedingly easy to lock-out your executor at the very moment when you need them most. Therefore, this article in Forbes serves as a reminder that one of the most […]
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Trusts and Divorce – Are My Assets Protected?
As this recent article in Forbes points out, trusts are quickly gaining ground as a popular estate-planning tool. They are attractive to many because they can be molded to serve a variety of purposes. One such purpose may be shielding assets in the event of divorce. Prior to a marriage, any assets placed in a […]
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Caring for Special Needs Heirs
The already challenging task of estate planning can become even more complicated when planning for loved ones with special needs. As governments on all levels continue to tighten their financial belts, income restrictions for medical and support services typically paid for by Social Security and Medi-Cal continue to drop. Therefore, as an article in the […]
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The Fiscal Cliff Deal: Things You Should Know
A recent article in Forbes discusses ten facts about the fiscal cliff deal that all Americans should be aware of. The Bush tax cuts were made permanent for most taxpayers. As to the federal estate tax, the exemption will remain at $5.12 million per person and indexed for inflation, with a tax rate increased from […]
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The Joys and Sorrows of Gift-Giving During Your Lifetime
“You can’t take it with you.” These are good words to keep in mind as we go through life, they remind us not to take ourselves too seriously, not to hold onto things we don’t need, and to be generous to those less fortunate than ourselves. Whether you’re thinking about estate planning or gift planning, […]
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Beware of Mistakes in Your Old Estate Plan
Do you already have an estate plan? Or perhaps you don’t have an estate plan per se, but over the years you’ve collected all of what you feel are the necessary documents to provide security and protection for your family and your assets after your death? Well, you may want to take a moment to […]
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Estate Planning for Your Digital Assets
We live in a digital world. With every year that passes, more and more of our lives are moving into the digital ealm. This includes friendships, networking, business and banking. Many people would now consider their Facebook password to be just as secret and sensitive as a credit card or social security number! We all […]
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