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On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in trusts & trust administration on Monday, December 31, 2018. It's not unusual for individuals in California looking to effectively manage their estate to establish a trust for this purpose. But there are times when someone with an existing trust may consider creating a second one. This brings to mind a related question - does a second trust revoke the first one? Generally, the answer is no since a trust is not like will i...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Friday, December 28, 2018. The path from the first steps of a Social Security Disability claim to final approval can be challenging for California applicants. However, understanding what happens after a claim is submitted can help people feel as if they have a better grasp of the process taking place. When people first apply for SSD benefits, their application is sent to disability determina...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in estate administration & probate on Thursday, December 27, 2018. When a person passes, his or her assets may need to go through probate. However, there are ways in which an individual in California and most other states can keep some or all assets from going through this process. Those who own a home, car or financial asset may be able to add a beneficiary designation to these assets. It may also be possible to create a t...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC on Tuesday, December 25, 2018. Estate planning in your younger days is much different than estate planning for the second half of your life. As you reach retirement age, there are specific details that deserve your attention.Even if you've put a lot of time into estate planning in your younger days, it doesn't mean you can forget about this after you hang up your work boots. Instead, focus on the following details to ensure that y...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC on Monday, December 24, 2018. It doesn't matter if you're choosing a nursing home for yourself, your spouse or an aging loved one, there are many steps you can take to move through the process in an efficient and stress-free manner.Here are five things you absolutely need to do: Consider what's important to you: This is the first thing to think about, as it will put you on the path to the best decision. Some details to consider in...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Friday, December 21, 2018. When people apply for Social Security disability benefits in California, they may be worried if they receive a quick denial. The process of applying for SSD benefits is known to be lengthy, so applicants may believe that a quick response indicates that they have a particularly weak case. However, the speed at which people receive a response is often entirely unrela...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in trusts & trust administration on Wednesday, December 19, 2018. California residents who are looking to reduce their tax bill while helping an important cause could do both with a charitable trust. Legally, a charitable trust must focus on helping to solve a problem like reliving poverty or anything else beneficial to the community as a whole. As a general rule, the trustee has a fiduciary duty, which means that the perso...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in estate administration & probate on Friday, December 14, 2018. In California, it is possible for an individual to have an executor or a trustee or both as part of an estate planning team. An executor is someone who represents the estate in the event that it has to go through probate. The trustee is the person who is in charge of a trust, and this person may fulfill that role both before and after its creator passes.Howeve...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Wednesday, December 12, 2018. Applying for Social Security Disability can be an arduous process for many people in California, especially since a large portion of applicants receive denials at the initial level. After receiving a denial, people can either file a new disability application or seek a disability appeal. A new claim generally involves significantly more work or time than filing ...

On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in trusts & trust administration on Thursday, December 6, 2018. Trusts are estate planning documents that allow for the distribution of assets after the death of the trust maker. In most cases, trusts have provisions calling for assets to be distributed to specific people, but the trust cannot do the distributing itself. Rather, that is the realm of the trust's executor. People who make trusts in California will appoint an ...