When someone passes away, there are three separate taxes to consider: property taxes, income taxes and inheritance taxes. Here is some general information concerning these taxes, however, I am not a C.P.A. or a tax professional. For further information or tax advice, please see a qualified tax professional. As most California property owners know, any increase in our property taxes from year to year is relatively small thanks to Proposition 13. Generally speaking, if real estate is transferred … [Read more...]

My last article focused on charitable gifts of money. This article focuses on a type of charitable gift everyone is capable of making, regardless of the size of their estate. This type of gift is known as an anatomical gift – the giving of either your entire body after your death for medical research and education or certain body parts for transplant to others. Even though the law in California concerning organ donations makes it relatively easy for organs to be donated, statistics show that … [Read more...]

Many of my clients wish to make charitable gifts as part of their estate plan. It is common for individuals to leave a share of their estate to their favorite charity, alma mater, fraternal organization or church. If you are considering making a gift to an organization as part of your estate plan, you should really think it through. While you can give a general gift without restriction, a gift with a well-defined purpose may be better. Let’s consider a few examples. Example 1: Someone gives … [Read more...]

Is It Sunday Yet? I truly enjoy and look forward to Sunday! My policy is not to work on Sundays and I try real hard not to even think about work or other responsibilities. I sometimes hear a Gospel song that contains the lyrics “everyday will be Sunday”, and that makes me dream about another place in another time. However, Monday comes all too soon and it’s back to the salt mine. I am what some might call a “shopaholic” and over the last several decades I have accumulated a bunch of stuff. … [Read more...]

The State of California has laws that determine what happens to your worldly goods if you pass away without having made plans for their distribution. The important factor in determining who inherits the property is the legal relationship between the deceased person and his or her survivors. If the deceased person was married and leaves behind a surviving spouse, the surviving spouse will inherit all of the community property. If the deceased person had non-community property (“separate” … [Read more...]