Our library articles contain vital information on living trusts, asset protection, incapacity planning, and probate requirements for California residents. Learn about what you must do, documents you will need, and deadlines you must meet in our online library.
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You May Need to Act NOW To Preserve Your Home’s Low Property Taxes for Your Children - January 2021 Newsletter In November, California voters approved Proposition 19. This may dramatically reduce your children’s ability to retain your below market property assessment -
Estate Planning Resources for Professional Advisors Our estate planning firm works closely with financial advisors and professionals to bring you the most comprehensive estate plan possible. -
A Look Back at Our Company History on Our 30th Anniversary Phil Kavesh, the founder of The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, looks at how far we've come in honor of our 30th anniversary. -
Estate Planning, Trust Administration, and Probate Resources Here, we share additional resources from The Law Firm of Kavesh, Minor & Otis, Inc. Learn about estate planning, trust administration, and probate. -
Tips for Choosing a Senior Living Community by Belmont Village Tips for Choosing a Senior Living Community -
Summertime and the Living Was Easy Summertime and the Living Was Easy by Attorney Phil Kavesh One of a series of personal reflections upon growing up in small town America in the 60’s -
Child Off to College Soon? Is He or She Properly Protected In Case of Accident or Illness? Child Off to College Soon? Is He or She Properly Protected In Case of Accident or Illness? By Attorney, Philip Kavesh If you have a child (or grandchild) over age 18 and heading to college, read on… Health Insurance Coverage Alone Isn’t Enough! -
New Legislation Will Have A Big Impact On IRA Planning! New Legislation Will Have A Big Impact On IRA Planning! By Philip Kavesh The U.S. House of Representatives has recently passed the “SECURE” Act and it’s expected to soon be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the President. This new law will enhance the ability of workers to set aside, on a tax-advantaged basis, more money to fund their retirement. Good news! However, also buried in the Bill is a little-known provision that will accelerate and increase the taxation of inherited IRAs - - in order to pay for these new worker benefits! Not so good news! -
Are You Overpaying For Prescription Drugs? Whether you (or your parents) are a senior citizen, and even if you (or your parents) already have insurance coverage for prescription drugs, you’ll want to read on. My Mom’s Story... I’ll begin with a short but poignant story. Recently, I took over all my Mom’s affairs. At age 93, she is blessed with remarkably good health, but now her dementia has advanced to the stage where she is unable to manage her own affairs. Like it or not, statistics predict that most of us will someday face a “twilight period” like this when we can no longer adequately take care of ourselves (which is a major issue we address in a well-drafted estate plan). -
Would You Like to Pay MORE Income Taxes? You’re probably thinking, “Of course not!” However, sadly, you may in fact be paying more than you have to - - especially now that the President’s “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” has caused many Californians’ federal income taxes to go up in 2018. (If you haven’t filed your 2018 return yet, I’m sorry to inform you that you may be rudely awakenED when you do!) -
The Government Is Trying To Get Their Hands Into Your Pocket, Again! For some time now, most Californians have enjoyed freedom from estate, gift and inheritance taxes. Back in 1982, Californian voters approved Proposition 6, which amended the state constitution to prohibit such gift and “death” taxes. Recently, the federal government increased the “exemption” (the amount then can pass gift and estate tax free) to over $11 million for a single person and over $22 million for a married couple. -
Pardon My Blooper! Our firm recently welcomed aboard a new, young attorney, straight out of law school and it got me thinking back - - what was it like when I first started out as a lawyer, some 41 years ago? (Wow, time does fly!) You know how, sometimes, our most vivid memories are about things that went inexplicably wrong? That's where my mind immediately wanders when recalling my early days as an attorney. I remember getting out of law school, eager to go, armed with lots of technical information and full of idealistic visions. But I had no clue as to how the legal system worked in "the real world" nor what would be in store for me in dealing with bosses, judges, and clients! -
March "Madness" Another in a series of articles reminiscing about growing up in small town America in the 60's. -
What’s in Your…DNA? When we look close enough, it’s amazing how much is passed down from generation to generation at the smallest physiological level - - in our DNA. Of course, there are obvious things recorded and transmitted in our DNA like hair, eye and skin color, height, body shape, and even general personality. But, there are also less obvious inherited attributes - - like interests and talents - - that seem to appear in younger generations, almost out of nowhere, as time goes by (and that we often miss unless we pay very close attention). -
"Thank You, January!" This is one in a series of articles reminiscing about growing up in small town America in the 50's and 60's... I hated January! I was a skinny kid, without much natural insulation, so the grey, cold days of January back East were about my least liked ones of the entire year. January was downright dreary, a letdown after the festive holidays of December were gone, the cheerful lights adorning the neighborhood houses came down and a nice, long vacation ended with the inevitable trudge back to school. -
"My Phone Is Driving Me Crazy!" No doubt, the invention of the mobile (or "cell") phone and its new offspring, the computer-in-your-hand (or "smart" phone), are ingenious technological advances that improve our lives in many ways. But they can also drive us crazy, or at least that's what my smart phone has done to me! -
Parents: Help Your Children Now To Make an Important Decision Affecting Your Future Many readers responded to my last article, "They Tried to Steal Mom's Money," (click here to read) where I described in detail how my Mom's long-term nursing care insurance carrier attempted to wrongfully deny coverage upon her admission to an assisted living facility. One compelling follow up question I received was, "How did you go about choosing the care facility that was the best fit for your Mom?" -
They Tried to Steal Mom’s Money! Let me just take a deep breath for a moment and calm myself down. Maybe “steal” is too strong a word. So how about instead I call this article, “They Tried to Cheat Mom Out of Her Money”? You be the judge. -
Your DocuBank Card can now hold your Medical Snapshot As a client of our firm, you received a DocuBank Emergency Card when you completed or upgraded your estate plan. We gave you this card to protect you. With it, your doctors can get immediate access to your important “Advanced Health Care Directive” and “HIPAA Authorization”, and enable your appointed health decision maker to step in immediately and handle critical decisions when you no longer can. DocuBank has added a new feature to the Card that we want to bring to your attention. -
Refinancing a Real Estate Mortgage? Watch Out! Two of the main reasons you set up your Living Trust (or probably should) are to avoid a court procedure called Conservatorship when you're incapacitated and another called Probate when you pass away. Both threaten unwanted interference into your and your loved ones' personal matters, as well as lots of red tape, delays, expenses and the exposure of your private business to unscrupulous third parties. -
If You Haven’t Received Your New Medicare Card Yet, You Better Read This… In previous articles, I addressed how seniors are needlessly exposed to financial scams because their Social Security number is on their Medicare Card (see line to 1st Medicare Card article) and the way the Social Security Administration in working to avoid this by rising new cards containing random identification numbers (see line to 2nd Medicare card article). I though the problem was about taken care of, but now the saga continues… with yet a new debacle I call “Medicare card limbo”! -
The Top 10 Scams Targeting Seniors The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging has issued a new report, Fighting Fraud: Senate Aging Committee Identifies Top 10 Scams Targeting our Nation's Seniors. The report is based on the complaints received by the committee's national fraud hotline, 855-303-9470. -
Happy (Grand)Father's Day! In June of each year, we celebrate Father's Day, a wonderful, befitting thank you to our fathers. But rarely do we think back about and celebrate our grand- fathers or great-grandfathers - - our more ancient predecessors without whom we would not be here today. -
"What's In Your Wallet?" (Part 2) Back in May of 2017, we warned you about some of the scams that seniors are exposed to because the Medicare Card, which you are instructed to keep in your wallet, contains your Social Security number. (Click here for prior article.) -
Should You Worry About Estate Taxes Any More? Most people believe that estate taxes are now gone and there's simply no need to do any special planning beyond the Living Trust. Wrong!
