We are pleased to announce that effective May 6, 2020, our Newport Beach office is Open For Business as usual, with all safety procedures in place! The Newport Beach office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mon-Fri., and Suite 1100 will be fully operational during those hours. The conference rooms are available for personal… Read More »
Posts By Author: Christine Weiner
Why DIY Estate Planning Still Fails
Frequently, we see television ads and hear talk of online “will kits” or software to produce estate planning documents. These kits are popular because they’re cheap. However, you risk subjecting your survivors to a bundle in legal fees to fix what are often useless documents. Companies like LegalZoom offer all kinds of documents, from creating… Read More »
The Importance of Setting Simple Goals
Whenever the holiday season is ending, many business owners often see a slowing of sales, fewer phone calls and emails, and fewer prospects walking through the door. Many of our business-owning clients choose to use this time to sit back and reflect on their successes or failures over the last year. Now is the best… Read More »
What To Do When You Want To Disinherit An Adult Child.
Most of our clients would never fathom themselves purposely disinheriting one of their children. However, sometimes, a parent decides to leave one child assets and another one absolutely nothing out of a loving intention. When advising parents on this issue it, we find it’s worth bringing up to them that any child discovering that he… Read More »
Do You Love your Pets more than your Kids?
Have you made plans for what happens to your “furry children” if you die or become incapacitated? Or are you just assuming someone will step in and give your animals the same level of care and attention that you do? Our clients love their pets! But sometimes they forget to do planning for their animals…. Read More »
Do Senior-Age Clients Need Prenuptial Agreements?
We’ve seen this scenario – or a similar one – many times at our law firm. A widower who lost his wife of 50 years gets remarried to a widow who lost her husband of 45 years. They attend the same church, share the same values and, in some cases, have the same circle of… Read More »
Soap Star’s Handwritten Will Challenged, Family Divided in Grief
Longtime daytime drama star Kristoff St. John passed away on Feb. 3. St. John played Neil Winters for nearly 30 years on CBS Television’s The Young and the Restless. The 52-year-old actor’s estate planning efforts are coming apart at the seams, according to several reports. Lawsuits and counter suits. Creditor claims, ex-spouses, and family disagreements…. Read More »
Avoid Confusion in a Crisis with Proper Planning
You might be doing everything you can do to help your aging parents. Often these decisions fall to one child, while other siblings are out of the loop for reasons of distance or other responsibilities. In some families you try to work by consensus, and at the same time, respect your parents’ wishes. This can… Read More »
Divorce Means Separating Estate Plans
During the dissolution of a marriage, it’s easy for our clients to become overwhelmed with all the changes that are happening. They become focused on the immediate problem of dividing financial or property assets and forget about estate and retirement plans that were made in the event of a debilitating illness or death. It’s our… Read More »
Planning For Long-Term Care Costs
Many of our clients feel uncomfortable discussing the risk of running out of money should they require living in a nursing home. As advisors, it’s our responsibility to help you understand just how expensive long-term care is, and that failing to plan for it jeopardizes your senior years and possibly creates an enormous financial burden… Read More »