blog

One of the things that makes managing legal issues so challenging is that the laws are always changing. This blog is designed to help you stay current on many of the latest changes.

Dio De Los Muertos

Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”) is a day of remembrance to honor our ancestors. The day is centered around connecting with our departed loved ones and honoring their memories.  One common ritual practiced on the Day of the Dead is to set out photographs and personal belongings of loved ones.  But, how […]

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Charitable Giving

In the season of giving back, charitable gifts are a great way to give thanks to your favorite charity. Planned gifts can take various forms and can offer beneficial deductions to your estate.  If you choose to name a charity as a beneficiary of a trust, be aware that doing so may delay the administration […]

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How Divorce Affects your Estate Plan

Divorce is never easy, and the last thing that someone going through it wants to think about is their estate plan. However, if a person dies or becomes incapacitated prior to the final divorce decree, unwanted disposition of assets may occur. In California, the law states that dissolution (divorce) or annulment of a marriage revokes […]

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IRA Trusts: What Are They and How Do They Work?

One of the main concerns our clients have while planning is how to preserve the inheritance they leave for their children. More specifically, how they can guarantee that a beneficiary won’t get a large sum and quickly spend it all.  How can the beneficiary be forced to stretch out their inheritance over their lifetime?  If […]

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Intergenerational Conversations about Estate Planning

It can be difficult to start the conversation about estate planning with your family.  Often, our generational differences build barriers between us making it uncomfortable to effectively communicate our opinions and feelings. What steps can be taken to breakdown those barriers? Prepare a List of Talking Points Prepare a list of all of the things […]

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Q&A with Emil Abedian, CPA

Emil Abedian is a Certified Public Accountant with over 10 years of industry experience. Emil’s firm, Abedian & Totlian, An Accountancy Corporation, specializes in accounting, tax and law firm management services for solo and small law firms. While working with his clients, Emil noticed a pattern of small business owners who came to him during […]

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Special Needs Trusts

In February 2019, Sona and Christina attended the Special Needs Symposium in Santa Rosa, California. The symposium focused on planning for persons with disabilities. The essential purpose of a special needs trust is to improve the quality of an individual’s life without disqualifying him or her from public benefit eligibility. Planning in this unique area […]

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Planning in the Digital Age

In the age of Instagram and Facebook, online accounts have become a big part of our daily lives. We share personal photos and thoughts with our followers and wait as the “likes” pour in. But what happens to our digital assets when we pass away? Who has control over our accounts? From a legal point […]

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Who Matters Most: When Friends Are Family

We often come across problems that our clients have faced which could have been easily avoided.  All client identities have been changed to protect their privacy. Many of us consider our friends to be family – sometimes even closer than our actual families.  The following details a scenario where having no estate plan resulted in […]

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Revisiting Your Guardian Nomination

Have you updated your Estate Plan to reflect your child’s current needs? Nominating a guardian for your child in the event of your passing is no easy task. Here are some factors to consider when selecting the ideal candidate among your family and friends: Typically when naming a guardian, parents will consider what their child needs […]

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