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Showing posts from November, 2016

COMMON REASONS WHY PEOPLE CHOOSE NOT TO DO PROPER ESTATE PLANNING WITH A WILL OR TRUST

By Robert Chang, Esq Freelance Writer There are common reasons why people choose not to do proper estate planning with a will or trust. In no particular order of importance: thinking that there is not enough assets to be a problem, they don’t need tax avoidance or probate avoidance, they are not dying, they are not elderly, they already have a will, losing control of your property, paying for the cheapest service because they think it is one size fits all, and finally, thinking that it won’t matter once you’re dead what happens to your money. First there are those who think that their estate would be too small to be important enough to administer, or consume resources. This is a lot less true than people think – in California, having more than $50,000 in real estate and $150,000 in total assets will put you at risk for larger expenditures than if you made the proper planning. Estate planning is not just for the rich – like taxes, failure to do your due diligence (or having someone d

Divorce or Annulment?

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Many people think that they may get their marriage or domestic partnership annulled instead of divorce just because they don’t want to deal with the ‘nightmare’ of alimony or spousal support. Let take a look if you can file an annulment of your marriage! An annulment (or “nullity of marriage” or “nullity of domestic partnership”) is when a court says your marriage or domestic partnership is NOT legally valid. After an annulment, it is like your marriage or domestic partnership never happened because it was never legal. Grounds for an Annulment A marriage is NEVER legally valid when it is: Incestuous: when the people who are married or in a registered domestic partnership are close blood relatives; or Bigamous: where a spouse or domestic partner is already married to or in a registered domestic partnership with someone else. Other marriages and partnerships can be declared invalid because of: Age at the time of marriage or domestic partnership; Prior existing marr

Divorce or Annulment?

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Many people think that they may get their marriage or domestic partnership annulled instead of divorce just because they don’t want to deal with the ‘nightmare’ of alimony or spousal support. Let take a look if you can file an annulment of your marriage! An annulment (or “nullity of marriage” or “nullity of domestic partnership”) is when a court says your marriage or domestic partnership is NOT legally valid. After an annulment, it is like your marriage or domestic partnership never happened because it was never legal. Grounds for an Annulment A marriage is NEVER legally valid when it is: Incestuous: when the people who are married or in a registered domestic partnership are close blood relatives; or Bigamous: where a spouse or domestic partner is already married to or in a registered domestic partnership with someone else. Other marriages and partnerships can be declared invalid because of: Age at the time of marriage or domestic partnership; Prior existing marriage or

Governor Brown Signs Moorlach 'Date of Separation' Bill

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Governor Brown Signs Moorlach 'Date of Separation' Bill By Robert Chang, Attorney at Law. A bill was signed by Governor Brown on July 25, 2016 which would amend the law regarding family law divorce date of separation. The term "living separate and apart" was interpreted by the California Supreme Court last year in the controversial case In Re Davis (2015) as requiring a spouse to take the action of leaving the marital residence. The main areas where this has affected divorce law in California has been in the area of property division and spousal support. Property is divided fifty fifty in California so long as it was acquired during marriage. (with a few exceptions) The problems Davis created are primarily financial. Forcing someone to move out of a home before being considered separated ignores many of the financial issues that Californians face. In the past, courts evaluated multiple factors. Were the couple still sleeping in the same bedroom? Did they go

New articles regarding Power of Attorney

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New articles regarding Power of Attorney I am pretty sure that many of our relatives have executed a durable power of attorney to handle his/her financial matters in case of the maker become incapacitated. With current trend, most of the big bank such as Wells Fargo or Ameriprise won't honor the durable power of attorney executed by your relative. They want the account holders to use their own form. Many people being shock by this practice since the date they know this become too late for their relative since he/she may has developed dementia or some kind of mental incapacitated. Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/health/finding-out-your-power-of-attorney-is-powerless.html
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New articles regarding Power of Attorney I am pretty sure that many of our relatives have executed a durable power of attorney to handle his/her financial matters in case of the maker become incapacitated. With current trend, most of the big bank such as Wells Fargo or Ameriprise won't honor the durable power of attorney executed by your relative. They want the account holders to use their own form. Many people being shock by this practice since the date they know this become too late for their relative since he/she may has developed dementia or some kind of mental incapacitated. Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/10/health/finding-out-your-power-of-attorney-is-powerless.html

Purchasing Online Legal Documents - It may do more harms than good.

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I love shopping online and I even pay for the Prime membership to have two days shipping. Time is always not at my side since I work full time, go to school full time, take care of three little children full time and fulfill my husband role full time. With the availability of online marketplace, I don’t have to drive around to buy a specific drawer handler that match with the rest of others. I go online. But there is thing that you cannot buy online. Using online legal documents to spend less money might seem like a good idea, but there are many inherent risks involved that could have costly consequences down the road. A flawed legal document could get rejected by a court outright and potential heirs could be left with a serious problem. If a person gets into a dispute with an online legal company they might not be able to take them to court. There are many complex estates, family law issues or deed transfer matters that a person might have that would require the assistance of a

Revocable Transfer of Death Deed (RTDD)

Revocable Transfer of Death Deed (RTDD) By Regina Van Hecke CALDA Legislative Chair Assembly Bill 139 has been signed by the Governor and will take effect January 1, 2016. This bill amends Family and Probate codes to include a ‘Revocable Transfer on Death Deed’ (RTDD) as a method of transferring title of real property to named beneficiaries. The use of this type of deed may be beneficial for certain people, but it also has its drawbacks. How does this deed work? A Revocable Transfer on Death Deed (RTDD) can be executed by people who wish to transfer title of ownership for real property upon death. This new RTDD would effectively name a “transfer on death” beneficiary who would be able to easily obtain title after the grantor’s death. This document works similarly to “payable on death” beneficiaries named on financial accounts. Until this bill was passed, no such deed allowing a person to name a beneficiary for real property has existed. An RTDD creates a new option for people wh