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Estate Planning Resources

Welcome to our Estate Planning Library, which is full of helpful resources for Families, Individuals and Business Owners.

Each Article is personally written by an attorney at Ainer & Fraker, LLP.

Click on the Title of the Article to read in full.

California Small Estate Procedure Extended to Real Property Less than $150,000

Petition to Determine Succession to Real Property in California may replace the full probate process for estates less than $150,000. In our prior posts, we discussed why Avoiding Probate is an excellent idea. We also discussed how certain Assets Not Subject to Probate can avoid the Probate process, in certain circumstances. An earlier post discussedContinue Reading

How to Choose the Right Type of Professional Trustee

In a prior podcast, we discussed how discussing the subject of Successor Trusteeship is one of the most important conversations you can have with your clients. We also discussed how the “default’ selection of a family member trustee can lead to family disharmony, and even conflict. It is important for you to know, however, thatContinue Reading

Family Member Trustee vs. Professional Trustee

In an earlier podcast, we discussed how talking with your clients about the issue of Successor Trusteeship for their family trust is a key to establishing long-term, profitable relationships. In that podcast, we stated that many attorneys don’t think that family members make the best Trustees, and often will recommend that a client considers usingContinue Reading

Using Life Insurance to Create an Estate

In a previous post, we saw that Life Insurance has many uses in Estate Planning, beyond just “Breadwinner Replacement.” Now let’s look at one of the most obvious, yet most overlooked, uses of life insurance: To Create or Expand One’s Estate Every parent wants to leave their children better off financially than they were. However,Continue Reading

Uses of Life Insurance in Estate Planning

Most people think life insurance is used for only one specific purpose: to replace the lost earnings should a primary breadwinner pass away. Those who subscribe to this theory often purchase low-cost, term insurance that expires soon after retirement. However, viewing Life Insurance solely as “Breadwinner Replacement” ignores the wide variety of uses for lifeContinue Reading

Joint Tenancy

In an earlier post, we discussed why your beneficiaries would think Avoiding Probate is an excellent idea. We also discussed how certain Assets Not Subject to Probate can avoid the Probate process, including those assets that qualify for the California Small Estate Affidavit procedure, or Assets that Pass by Operation of Contract. Now, we willContinue Reading

Assets Passing by Operation of Contract

In an earlier post, we discussed why Avoiding Probate is an excellent idea. We also discussed how certain Assets Not Subject to Probate can avoid the Probate process, in certain circumstances. For those Estates that meet the requirements of the California Small Estate Affidavit procedure, they may be able to Avoid Probate for those qualifyingContinue Reading

Why Avoid Probate?

Let’s examine the Top 5 Reasons to Avoid Probate in California.Continue Reading