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 ...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Wednesday, December 5, 2018. The Social Security Disability list of impairments sets forth medical conditions that, if met by a disability claimant, generally qualify that person for disability benefits. Categorized by bodily system or function, the list includes mental disorders among the disabling conditions. One problem is that most California claimants suffer from conditions that do not ...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Saturday, December 1, 2018. The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a case that addresses an important part of the Social Security Disability Insurance hearing process. The issue in the case, which is relevant in Social Security actions in California and across the U.S., is whether a vocational expert's opinion can be relied upon if the expert does not provide the data that led to his ...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in estate administration & probate on Friday, November 30, 2018. When someone is named as executor of a California estate, the tasks they are faced with may be confusing and substantial. The executor, who is named in the will, must file and pay remaining taxes from the estate, handle creditors, value assets and distribute property to the named beneficiaries. Being named executor is often an honor and an expression of trust ...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in social security disability on Wednesday, November 28, 2018. People in California applying for Social Security disability benefits may want to do everything they can to bolster their applications. A medical source statement is a document created by a physician that helps to show an applicant's medical condition. It includes a number of factors, including the person's diagnosis and his or her capabilities and functional de...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC on Tuesday, November 27, 2018. People sometimes delay their estate planning because they are unsure of what that entails. There typically may be confusion over what authorities the signed documents give to others.One often misunderstood document is a power of attorney (POA). Below are some common misconceptions about POAs: You just need to download a form off the internet.On the surface, this is true -- powers of attorney forms ar...
On behalf of The Elder and Disability Law Firm, APC posted in estate administration & probate on Monday, November 19, 2018. Stan Lee, the man behind many of the superheroes that entertain both kids and adults in California and around the world, passed away in November, 2018 at the age of 95. But the end of Lee's life has led to an entirely new saga involving the comic book writer, editor, and publisher's estate. Hints of possible issues came even before Lee's death. In early 2018, ...
