Learning Library

As people get into their senior years, it is natural to start thinking about the end of life. Those thoughts can bring about concern regarding the type of inheritance to leave to adult children and exactly how to carry out your wishes when passing down your assets to the people you love. But, th...

Trusts are excellent legal tools that can be used to accomplish most estate planning and asset protection planning goals. The most common type of trust is a Revocable Living Trust which will hold your assets and help avoid the Santa Barbara County probate process when you pass away. However, Sant...

With the holidays fast-approaching, with COVID being part of our 2020 now might be a good time with smaller quieter gatherings to have 'The Talk' with your elderly parents if you haven't had it already. Unless you’re certain your parents have an up-to-date will and a wider plan for what should happen in the event of their passing, you shouldn’t assume everything will be taken care of.

You’ve most likely seen articles and news segments about cryptocurrency. The most popular form is Bitcoin, but there are several others on the horizon. For the uninitiated, cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that uses cryptography for security, making it difficult to counterfeit. One of the main reasons why people and investors like cryptocurrencies…

One of my greatest passions as a Santa Barbara estate planning lawyer is teaching parents how to wisely prepare for death. I realize the possibility of dying while your children are still young can be difficult to accept, and that's why many parents choose to not think about it. Unfortunately, th...

One of my greatest passions as a Santa Barbara estate planning lawyer is teaching parents how to wisely prepare for death. I realize the possibility of dying while your children are still young can be difficult to accept, and that's why many parents choose to not think about it. Unfortunately, t...

One of the hardest things an adult child must handle is the responsibility of overseeing their elderly parent's care. As a Santa Barbara elder law attorney, I find that this situation is only made harder when the child and parent live in different states. While arranging for transportation, healt...

Dementia is one of the most devastating conditions affecting seniors, resulting in an eventual loss of cognitive functions. While there is no cure for dementia or the two leading diseases that cause dementia, Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, there are treatments that can slow the effects...

As a Santa Barbara will and estates attorney, I'm often asked, “How does a Healthcare Directive or Living Will work in California?” Essentially, an Advance Healthcare Directive, sometimes referred to as a Living Will in California, is a legal document that spells out your wishes for healthc...

The answer to this question and so many other estate planning questions is, “Yes, but….”. It is true that if you own an asset jointly with rights of survivorship in California, the joint tenant will automatically retain ownership of the property when you pass away. The assets held in joint tenanc...

Dementia is one of the most devastating conditions affecting seniors, resulting in an eventual loss of cognitive functions. While there is no cure for dementia or the two leading diseases that cause dementia, Alzheimer's and Lewy body dementia, there are treatments that can slow the effects...

A family home or vacation property is often the most valuable asset in their estate. While the homeowner may want to leave their cherished property to children or other beneficiaries as an inheritance, taxes can quickly thwart well-meaning plans. The sad truth is that without proper planning...

As a Santa Barbara will and trust attorney, I often see the results of what happens when someone does not plan for the possibility of an unexpected disability. Most people come to our office ready to plan for their retirement or how they would like to see their estates managed after they ha...

By Julianna Malis, Attorney at Law July is Sandwich Generation month. If you're wondering what the Sandwich Generation is, the average age of parents raising children in the US has continued to rise, leaving many middle-aged Americans in a category commonly referred to as the the “sandwich” gener...

By Julianna Malis, Attorney at Law July is Sandwich Generation month. If you're wondering what the Sandwich Generation is, the average age of parents raising children in the US has continued to rise, leaving many middle-aged Americans in a category commonly referred to as the the “sandwich” gener...

Granting someone power of attorney means that you are giving them the authority to make important decisions on your behalf should you be incapable of making them yourself. The scope, duration, and other specifics are up to you. While the laws vary in each state, it's usually as simple as dr...

You may have heard about this story: doctors were faced with an ethical dilemma when they found the words “Do Not Resuscitate” tattooed on a man's chest. The tattoo even included the man's signature. The patient had no other documentation and was not accompanied by any family members who could he...

The thought of going through the probate process here in Santa Barbara County can strike fear in the hearts of most people, and with good reason. The time it takes is long and grueling, and the paperwork is overwhelming. The details of probate vary from state to state, so the process looks ...

As a Santa Barbara trust lawyer, I've found that most people do not understand the serious privacy intrusions that their family can face if they die without a Living Trust. Here in California and across the country, if you pass away without a Living Trust, all of the details about your family's i...

Modern American families come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations. This creates unique circumstances when creating wills and trusts and putting long-term care plans in place. There is always the potential for conflict when it comes to estate planning in general, but the added element...

Planning for the death of an unmarried partner is critical, but so is planning for the possibility that one partner becomes sick, disabled, or incapacitated at some point during their lifetime. Under the laws of most states, an unmarried partner has zero rights to manage finances or make me...

Raising a child with special needs is challenging. Sadly, the stress of the situation contributes to the high rate of divorce among couples who are raising children with special needs. In fact, it is estimated that the rate of divorce in these households are between 80% and 90%. If you are ...

If you've set up a Revocable Living Trust, congratulations! As a Santa Barbara will and trust lawyer, I assure you that you've taken a very important step in protecting your assets and your family in the event you become incapacitated or pass away. However, just because you've completed this impo...

For some families, bankruptcy is the only way out from living under a mountain of debt.  Filing for bankruptcy is a not a decision most people enter into lightly as the process can have a number of long-term and severe consequences. Once such consequence that tends to go overlooked is the possibi...

If something were to happen to you and your spouse, what would happen if the authorities or medical personnel did not know that you have minor children at home waiting for you? Picture this; your children are at home and more frightened as each hour passes and you have not returned. The bab...