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 moreChoosing an estate planning attorney is frequently a stressful experience. Beyond the typical questions of competence you might ask your attorney to determine whether he can provide the service you need; you need to feel comfortable confiding in your attorney about your personal, family, financial, and health circumstances. All of these topics are uncomfortable to … Read more
We typically think of estate planning in the affirmative, as in who are we going to give our assets to upon our deaths. However, sometimes one of the most difficult estate planning decisions couples make is who not to give assets to, particularly when the person is your child. Deciding to disinherit someone is never … Read more
One of the many benefits of planning your estate in advance is the flexibility inherent in the documents, particularly in trusts. You can change the character of property ownership, transfer property during life and after death, and have your assets managed seamlessly through incapacity and after death. However, sometimes the amount of flexibility allowed in … Read more
There are several newly minted millionaires as a result of Wednesday’s Powerball drawing who now have a number of new estate planning considerations on their plate that may not have been relevant before, including estate tax. For married individuals with high net worths, the A-B trust has long been a staple of their overall estate … Read more
When planning your estate, considering your personal long-term needs is an essential part of the process. Determining whether you may qualify Medi-Cal benefits or VA benefits in the future helps to ensure financial stability if you have some long-term health issues. In order to effectively plan to qualify for these benefits, you may make a … Read more
Most estate plan packages include a Financial Power of Attorney (FPOA) and Advance Healthcare Directive (AHCD). These documents may be powerful, but they have their limitations. Understanding the role of each document in your estate plan is crucial to ensuring that the documents may be used properly and enforced if necessary. Banks are absolute sticklers … Read more
Gifts may come in a lot of different forms: you may be helping someone out with a bill payment, putting property into someone else’s name in order to avoid probate, or giving a no-strings attached offer to someone. Regardless of the nature of the gift, if you are providing someone with something of value without … Read more
Surviving spouses are eligible for a number of benefits after the death of their spouse. There are estate tax benefits, such as the marital deduction allowing estate tax-free transfers to the surviving spouse, a simplified probate procedure (the spousal petition), and the list goes on. Most benefits are available only to surviving spouses who are … Read more
Although the Revolutionary War rid Americans of the requirement to care about the British monarchy, the news media has been abuzz with the happy news of a prince. Prince William and Kate Middleton have had their first child, who is third in line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William. So far, the … Read more
Family dynamics are unique to each family unit. Particularly in the last few years, family members are living together more often and adult children are staying or returning home more frequently. Additionally, more and more people are choosing home health care options over long-term nursing home care during their elderly years, sometimes employing a family … 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...
