While a nutritious diet, physical exercise and good genes may help you keep poor health at bay, you may be powerless to prevent a serious injury, chronic illness or advancing age. Eventually, you may become unable to make your own medical choices. With an advance health care directive, you outline both the care you want to receive and the treatments you would rather your doctors avoid. You also designate a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf. Here are three times you may want to revisit your advance health care directive. 1. Your family makeup changes It is not uncommon for ..read more

People may feel honored when a friend or a family member asks them to serve as the executor of the estate. However, settling an estate is large responsibility. Before people agree to perform this task, they should make sure they understand the job.  According to Policy Genius, there are several key tasks that the executor has to carry out. These include the following:  Filing the will at the local probate court  Contacting the beneficiaries  Informing financial institutions  Managing the finances of the deceased  Distributing assets  Overseeing the ..read more

When you try to buy a California home, you may need to make contingent offers, meaning you plan to purchase the home as long as certain conditions come to be. A contingent offer you make on a home gives you an “out” if something specific never occurs, and some types of contingencies are more common than others.   Per NerdWallet, contingencies help protect your interests during the home-buying process. The more you understand about them, the better the chances of you finding satisfaction in your home purchase. What are some of the most common contingencies in residential real est ..read more

Too often, individuals will develop a comprehensive estate plan and avoid making any revisions after significant life events occur. From a change in marital status to the loss of a loved one, an estate plan is a set of documents that should be reviewed and revised every three to five years. One way people can ensure the estate plan is accurate for longer periods of time, is by including secondary beneficiaries. A secondary beneficiary, often called a contingent beneficiary, is named in a will, trust or other financial account and will inherit an asset in the event that the primary beneficiary ..read more

While every individual has a unique situation, most people need an estate plan with several key elements. Understanding these items can help you craft a plan that allows your heirs to fulfill your wishes. Review the important aspects of estate planning for California residents. Revocable trust With a revocable trust, your estate can avoid probate in California for all assets transferred to the ownership of the trust. You name a trustee who will manage these assets after you die and distribute them to your intended beneficiaries. You can change the terms of a revocable trust whenever you wish ..read more

When it comes to government aid for estate planning and elder care, California’s Medicaid program Medi-Cal is one of the most available resources. Long-term care, whether at home, a nursing home or in assisted living is a service that many seniors require in their later years. But the program is primarily reserved for low-income individuals and has certain limits in order to qualify. Medi-Cal asset limits The American Council on Aging defines assets as cash, stocks, investments, savings and checking accounts. The usual limit on these assets ranges between $2,000-$3,000 in total assets. Though ..read more

While a nutritious diet, physical exercise and good genes may help you keep poor health at bay, you may be powerless to prevent a serious injury, chronic illness or advancing age. Eventually, you may become unable to make your own medical choices. With an advance health care directive, you outline both the care you want to receive and the treatments you would rather your doctors avoid. You also designate a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf. Here are three times you may want to revisit your advance health care directive. 1. Your family makeup changes It is not uncommon for ..read more

People may feel honored when a friend or a family member asks them to serve as the executor of the estate. However, settling an estate is large responsibility. Before people agree to perform this task, they should make sure they understand the job.  According to Policy Genius, there are several key tasks that the executor has to carry out. These include the following:  Filing the will at the local probate court  Contacting the beneficiaries  Informing financial institutions  Managing the finances of the deceased  Distributing assets  Overseeing the ..read more

When you try to buy a California home, you may need to make contingent offers, meaning you plan to purchase the home as long as certain conditions come to be. A contingent offer you make on a home gives you an “out” if something specific never occurs, and some types of contingencies are more common than others.   Per NerdWallet, contingencies help protect your interests during the home-buying process. The more you understand about them, the better the chances of you finding satisfaction in your home purchase. What are some of the most common contingencies in residential real est ..read more

Too often, individuals will develop a comprehensive estate plan and avoid making any revisions after significant life events occur. From a change in marital status to the loss of a loved one, an estate plan is a set of documents that should be reviewed and revised every three to five years. One way people can ensure the estate plan is accurate for longer periods of time, is by including secondary beneficiaries. A secondary beneficiary, often called a contingent beneficiary, is named in a will, trust or other financial account and will inherit an asset in the event that the primary beneficiary ..read more