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For those that don’t know, Downton Abbey is a television show about an aristocratic British family in the early 20th century that has taken American audiences by storm. And interestingly (for me, at least) many of the show’s most gripping plot twists are the result of a number of bad estate planning moves. For example […]

James Gandolfini, the actor best known for his role as Tony Soprano, died suddenly on June 19, 2013 while on vacation in Italy. His last will and testament is readily available for anyone to see online, which is the first lesson we can take away from his tragic passing – a will is public. Establishing […]

I run into people with this problem from time to time: They have a great business idea, but are afraid to talk about them with anyone because they’re afraid it’ll get stolen. Does this sound like you? If so, read on about three legal tools that will help protect your valuable business ideas. NDA, or […]

If you’re in the process of forming a small business this year or already tending to one that is growing, then you’re most likely exposing your business to unnecessary risks by making one of the following common legal mistakes. Keep reading to see how you can best avoid any of these pitfalls. Operating as a […]

As a small business owner, you spend a lot of time and money and invest plenty of sweat equity into building a business and create intellectual property that needs protection along the way. So I thought I would suggest a few strategies to protect your business’s trademarks: 1. Use Google Alerts. You can set up […]

Medi-Cal and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are not affected by funds held in a properly drafted special needs / supplemental needs trust.  However, problems can arise when funds are withdrawn from a special needs trust.  This leads to one of the most commonly asked questions about special needs trusts – what exactly can the […]

Estate Planning Tip #1: Do not wait until the divorce is final. Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to wait until your divorce is final to update your estate planning documents. If your divorce is likely to drag on for months or even years, you can still protect your assets from your ex […]

Retirement planning for baby boomers is very different than it was for their parents, when it was usually just one spouse (Dad) who retired. It is now quite common that both working spouses must make a decision together on their retirement, and each may have very different ideas of what that retirement should look like. […]

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 6, 2011 rejected a challenge to a California law that gives illegal immigrants the same in-state college tuition rates as legal state residents, another contentious issue in the nation’s immigration policy debate. The justices refused to hear an appeal by group of out-of-state U.S. citizens after the California Supreme […]

Here are 10 of the best asset protection guidelines for small business owners: It’s too late to put together an asset protection plan after you are sued; The best time to create an asset protection plan is prior to having a claim made against your business. Trying to put asset protection in place after a […]