The SF Chronicle’s Carolyn Said recently published an article detailing the story of Leslie and Cheryl Berkes, an elderly couple in Moraga whose caretaker methodically drained their retirement, checking and savings accounts over a period of years, totalling more than $350,000. The…
Greetings all. If you are stuck at home and without basic legal documents, read on. In the spirit of offering what I can to help people gain some piece of mind amidst the panic and uncertainty of the pandemic, here are some resources that you can use to get the basics in order, for now.
As I…
My new book, Every Californian’s Guide to Estate Planning is available now and I’m excited to share it with all of you.
I wrote it because there isn’t a California-specific estate planning book out there, and we, as Californians, have some special things to deal with.
In…
What is estate planning, really? I know that most lawyers focus on reducing taxes, or the creation of documents, but when you get down to it, what you’re really doing when you make an estate plan is giving everything away, right?
So, to me, understanding the practice of generosity and what…
I’m thrilled to share Episode 2 of my podcast: Life/Death/Law, Dealing with Dementia.
It’s almost Christmas, so, in the holiday spirit, I’m taking a look at a difficult, Home-For-The-Holidays moment — you get home and realize that your parents just seem…. a…
Welcome to my new podcast, Life/Death/Law, where I explore the intersection of life, death, law (and love)–otherwise known as estate planning.
In this first episode Emily Bouchard, a family dynamics and money coach and the managing partner at Wealth Legacy Group, talks to me about…
A few months ago, the New York Times published an article entitled, “Single? No Children? No Will? Big Mistake.” I’ve been meaning to write about it ever since. The author writes, “Certain people never reach one of those obvious points in their lives to write one. If…
In October, California became one of five states to permit medical aid in dying with the passage of the End of Life Option Act. The bill is modeled after one passed in Oregon in 1997.
Governor Brown signed the bill, with a signing statement that said, in part, “I do not know what I…