Asset Protection Nearly all of my clients are interested in “asset protection” in some form or the other. In particular, they are concerned about protecting their home from creditors. Currently, the homestead exemption in California is $75,000 for single persons, $100,000 for married couples, and $175,000 for persons who are 65 years of age or older or that are physically or mentally disabled. Given the [...]
Archive for September, 2011
Everyone Wants To Go to Heaven – They Just Don’t Want to Die First
By Robert Lamm
Wednesday, September 28th, 2011
If it was not for the last second rush…..
By Robert Lamm
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Many years ago, my high school English instructor liked to remind the class of the old saying, “If it was not for the last second rush, nothing would ever get done.” It was her way of teasing the procrastinators out there that were likely burning the midnight oil in order to meet an approaching deadline. [...]
Don’t Let the Tax Tail Wag the Dog
By Robert Lamm
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
At the end of the day, a key goal of any estate plan is to make sure that the client’s estate is distributed to the persons that they intended. Most of the time, those persons are their children and their grandchildren. However, in the absence of an irrevocable credit shelter trust that is established at the death of one spouse, the survivor would be able to amend the entire trust and, at their death, leave it to anyone. This includes leaving the estate to a new and sometimes significantly younger spouse!
Advance Health Care Directive Registry
By Robert Lamm
Thursday, September 1st, 2011
Ever since the Terri Schiavo case, the public has become increasingly aware of the need for advance health care directives. In fact, it’s one of the first topics that many of my clients raise during our first meeting about drafting their estate plan. Most do not want to be placed on life support when they are in a persistent vegetative state and the advance health care directive is typically designed to prevent just that scenario. However, what good is the document if nobody knows that it exists?
