Online resource center to help you explore these key issues, and others, regarding your estate.
Mr. Miller has many years of experience in designing and implementing a comprehensive variety of Trusts, Wills, and other estate planning documents, as well as settling estates in the most expedient and appropriate method. Further, he counsels and assists clients on becoming eligible for VA benefits and Medi-Cal.
Learn moreMr. Miller has been active in the area of VA Pension and Medi-Cal for well over a decade. He uses various specialized types of Trusts as well as non-trust strategies to gain eligibility for his clients and save the family money.
Learn moreMr. Miller has been settling estates (both simple and complex) for well over 40 years. The starting point is always to create a strategy to settle the estate in the most efficient manner possible with a minimum of taxes. Often times the strategy created allows the family to bypass Probate Court proceedings.
Learn moreA few weekends ago an airplane tragically crashed at the San Francisco airport, killing two young Chinese students and injuring over 160 others. The effects of the tragedy reverberated throughout the country as many airports suffered delays and cancelled flights. Of course, the inconvenience of delays may have racked up travel expenses for tourists and … Read more
For the vast majority of property owners in California, the revocable living trust is the preferred estate planning method. It offers flexibility throughout life because it is freely amendable during life and does not require that specific assets be separated and subject to certain terms and conditions for withdrawal. Additionally, the revocable living trust is … Read more
The Supreme Court has officially struck down Article 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which affects same sex married couples who were legally married during the brief time the state allowed same sex marriages. Additionally, the Court determined that proponents of the controversial Proposition 8 do not have standing to defend the voter-approved … Read more
For those who watch late-night television, you are probably already familiar with the fact that the Daily Show and Colbert Report typically run new episodes at the same time and take breaks at the same time. For that reason, it may have seemed odd that this week, the Daily Show was airing current episodes while … Read more
In the era of digital assets, digital record keeping, and, apparently, rampant NSA surveillance, many clients are understandably concerned about privacy when executing their estate plans. Depending on the plan itself, more or less information may be publicly available. If your family’s privacy is a concern for you, proper estate planning can achieve that end. … Read more
Deciding how to dole out property after your death is neither an easy nor particularly fun task. As a result, many estate planners create their initial documents and then leave them alone, unchanged, for their remaining lives. However, all the documents in your estate plan should be reviewed regularly in order to avoid unfavorable consequences … Read more
Budget hawks have been harping on Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California). For the purpose of this article, I will distinguish the federal issues from the state issues by using Medicaid and Medi-Cal respectively) and Medicare spending over the past few years. Many political debates have focused on who is cutting what from which program, making it … Read more
Although the economy is finally beginning to rebound as home prices increase and more jobs are added, the last six years have been tough on families in the area. Pinching pennies took on new meaning as it became a necessary habit just to pay bills, but if you have some surplus in your monthly budget, … Read more
In the wake of a number of national tragedies, the gun control debate has made mental illness one of the focal points of the debate. However, mental illness is a much larger issue than a few national news stories. For many, suffering from mental illness is a daily war with themselves. In general, mentally ill … Read more
Most estate planning is centered around a few important goals: preserving as much of your estate for your heirs as possible, easing the transition of your assets, and preserving positive memories of your life. In most cases, a properly drafted trust can accomplish most of these goals. For example, by paying attention to the need … Read more
About Living Trusts is hosted by the Law Offices of Merwyn J. Miller, as your online resource center to help you explore these key issues, and others, regarding your estate.
Dear Mr. Miller: My mother is 82 and still lives alone. Over the last year, she has become noticeably more forgetful. She repeats stories, sometimes f...
Dear Mr. Miller: My mother passed away recently, and I have been named the Successor Trustee of her trust. I expected to be sad after losing her, but ...
Dear Mr. Miller: About ten years ago, my husband and I paid an attorney to create a Living Trust. We signed all the documents and put them in a safe p...
