Effective January 1, 2017 Medi-Cal Recovery (SB 833) For Medi-Cal recipients who die on or after January 1, 2017, there are significant changes in the law. The most significant impacts the limitations on recovery of funds by the state of California after the death of the Medi-Cal recipient. For Estate Planning purposes, the best news…
In a new law to go into effect January 1, 2017, a Living Trust may be utilized to protect assets from Medi-Cal claims for individuals dying after that date. This is a revolutionary law that elevates the advantages of a Living Trust in California to a new high. Previously, a Living Trust provided no protection…
As indicated in an article I wrote on May 3, 2016 regarding the withholding of death benefits by insurance companies, there have been some new developments. The insurance industry has had a long standing policy of holding death benefits if they were not contacted by the beneficiary. In other words, the burden was placed on…
If you saw 60 Minutes on CBS Sunday night you had to be astounded by the absolute greed and thievery of life insurance companies. Many of them, mostly all of the large companies, are being sued in a class action for failing to pay death proceeds to deserving beneficiaries. Roughly $7.5 billion have been withheld…
Have you ever heard of a situation in which a son or daughter lost their inheritance in a divorce, lawsuit or creditor claim against their spouse? It happens frequently in community property states like California. Typically, on the death of the surviving parent, a son or daughter will receive his/her inheritance and place it in…
A Step By Step Approach Part I When it comes to taking care of estate planning business, most clients are paralyzed by procrastination. Procrastination has cost the American public more than any tax bill ever enacted. We can hear something or see something that we, admittedly, need to accomplish for the benefit of ourselves or…