Dear Friends, Colleagues, and Clients: Meet Dennis. In high school, his senior class voted him “most likely to throw an epic party,” and he took that mantle to college, dropping out after only three semesters due to partying too hard and studying too little. Unmoored and unhappy, Dennis took a low-level job as a video game programmer, learned coding, and found his ultimate calling in life. Just ten years later, […]
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You have spent your entire adult life contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement account and it has ballooned quite significantly over the years. With retirement on the horizon, you and your partner begin planning for the next chapter in your lives. What could go wrong? Tragically, you are involved in a horrific car crash and must undergo countless physical therapy sessions and doctors’ appointments to recover. After several months in recovery, […]
Continue readingAfter the beloved and multi-talented celebrity chef and television sensation, Anthony Bourdain passed away, it didn’t take long before questions regarding his financial legacy arose. Unlike more than half of Americans and other well-known celebrities we’ve lost, Bourdain left behind a will. Now, his estate plan is at center stage and has left some wondering if it will create more problems than it is intended to solve. Bourdain’s daughter will […]
Continue readingProbate serves one primary purpose: to clearly define ownership of assets after a death. Within this purpose, the ideal is to provide an efficient and undisputed transfer of ownership. It is never as simple as handling a title or deed from one party to another. In truth, complex property requires complex transfers and a thorough review of pertinent laws. The legacy of James Brown is a clear example. Brown passed […]
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Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, “White-eighty, white-eighty, hut!” A crisp snap slams the ball firmly into Carolina Panther Cam Newton’s hands, and he drops back into the pocket, searching for his receiver as defensive linemen bear down. He hears a loud crunch – the sound of two bodies colliding. Cam smiles, knowing that his left tackle Michael Oher is protecting his blind side, giving him precious extra seconds. Cam cocks […]
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Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, Harold spent the better part of his life building a profitable business, but one bad day led to a lawsuit that wouldn’t quit, and suddenly his years of hard work evaporated with the loss of his business…and his retirement. To Harold, it’s no surprise that the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) declared California the #1 judicial hellhole in the United States for the 3rd […]
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Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, Silicon Valley has been such a leader in technology for over two decades that it has sported a dizzying number of IPOs and huge stock option payoffs creating enormously wealthy entrepreneurs and its own class of marital problems when their marriages breakup. As a community property state, California divorce law generally holds that property obtained during a marriage is fair game, while separate property brought into marriage belongs to that […]
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Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, The weather was gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the conversation had been informative. While the topic was not anyone’s favorite to engage in, Rich and Alice had just updated their two children, ages 23 and 27, on recent changes they had made to their estate planning documents. While the four were waiting for dessert, Rich asked his children, Chris and Chelsea, if they had done any planning for themselves. Chris […]
Continue reading“Dad, are we rich?” Ethan’s father drops his fork mid-bite. “That’s an unusual question,” Roger carefully responds. Ethan, who just turned 16 and still fears his father’s disapproval, hesitates before continuing. He knows there is an unspoken rule in his family to never speak about money. Despite his nerves he plows on determined to get to the bottom of the wild claims his classmates made. “So, the guys said I didn’t need to get a summer […]
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The Destruction of the Tablets of the Ten Commandments Guilty? Not Guilty? You Decide Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, Each year, the University Synagogue located in Irvine, CA, presents a hugely entertaining and informative Biblical Trial Program. Two of the legal profession’s most esteemed law professors, Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the UCI School of Law, and Prof. Laurie Levinson, present their legal arguments involving iconic events from the Bible. Details […]
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