To our clients, colleagues, referral sources, friends and family: The Law Office of Jennifer Thaete continues to be open for business!!! Our number one goal is the health and safety of each one of our team members, our clients, and our community. We continue to assist clients with their essential legal needs. We have a…
Executor… Agent… Trustee… What are all these things???
March 10, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Trustee… Executor… Agent… POA… Will… Trust… When you have a Trust based estate plan you end up having a number of legal documents that accomplish different tasks; are usable at different times and the people who might act under them have different titles. For your Trust – it is effective immediately – throughout your life…
Why Adding Your Adult Children to Your Bank Account or Real Estate is NOT the Best Way to Plan
February 28, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Some people think that the “easy” way to avoid probate – or even just the “easy” way to be sure that their “loved ones” can access their money to care for them in the event of incapacity is to add them to their bank accounts or even their real estate. This is the wrong way…
Common Initial Steps to Take When Someone Has Died
January 3, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Typical Initial Steps to Take When Someone Has Died After someone passes on, who will have the authority to handle things will depend on whether or not they had an estate plan. If they had a trust or will based plan then the Trustee and/or the Executor, is authorized and empowered to carryout all duties…
Talking to Your Elderly Loved Ones about their Estate Plan
August 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment
As an estate planning attorney I am frequently asked how to go about approaching the subject of estate planning with elderly parents. This can be a tough conversation but it is certainly an important and valuable one to have, for both generations. The following is a list of typical questions to begin the dialogue: •…
What causes a person’s estate to go through Probate??
March 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Probate in California happens when the following facts are in alignment: #1 – a person died #2 – they were over 18 #3 – they owned assets – house, car, bank accounts, cds, stock, bonds, etc – any one of these or any combination of these #4 – the assets they did own were in…
Final Wishes – Who Will Make Your Funeral Arrangements?
January 2, 2013 By 2 Comments
Originally written in November 2010 Just received a call from a long time client who is the Conservator for his Mom – she just passed away and now the mortuary he wants to have do her final arrangements is stating they need ALL of her children to agree on what is to be done. Under…
Healthcare Agents and Medical Decisions
December 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Originally written in September 2010 I encourage all of my clients to consider signing a healthcare power of attorney. This document gives broad powers to someone you trust, such as a spouse, sibling, or close friend, to make healthcare decisions on your behalf if you are ever unable to make such decisions for yourself. However,…
Our Unique Process to Help Clients Create their Estate Plan
October 1, 2012 By 1 Comment
In our office we have a fairly well defined process for helping clients create their estate plan. We constantly review this process & our systems to improve the experience for our clients and to insure that we are delivering state of the art legal assistance. When a prospective client calls they will speak with my…
