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 moreEven when beneficiaries want to agree to a certain allocation of assets, it is often very difficult to actually put the agreement into effect. This is especially true when the agreement is contrary to the rules of intestate succession (i.e. who inherits when there is no Will or Trust) or terms of the decedent’s Will … Read more
March is perhaps best known for the college sports frenzy known as March Madness (the NCAA basketball tournament). However, every year March also features another kind of “rebound.” The spring real estate selling season begins as winter doldrums come to an end. Combined with the general upward trend of real estate pricing, increasing numbers of … Read more
Income and wealth disparities in married couples are not uncommon. However, in some cases the disparity can keep growing throughout the marriage and impact estate and Medi-Cal planning. For example, in cases where one spouse works while the other is retired or inherited money, the wages are community assets while the other income is not. … Read more
In California, most people seem to understand the benefits of proper estate planning. However, I often hear people who do not understand the value of estate planners. Outfits such as LegalZoom or Legal Document Services offer cheap alternatives to meeting with a competent attorney in the area. Unfortunately, much of the document preparation is left … Read more
If you have been following the news, it seems that every few months the fiscal cliff re-emerges at the forefront of the news cycle, promoting discussion of deep partisan divide, prognostications of doom for the general population, and the lobbing of insults among our political representatives. Unfortunately, the result of the bickering has, so far, … Read more
Where you live seems like a simple question, and most often it is fairly simple. You may offer your home address and have done with it. However, for many retired individuals, the answer is not so simple. “Snow birds,” people with second homes, and those traveling in mobile trailers may all require some analysis as … Read more
Teaching your children about money, budgeting, and saving has always been important, but in these days of stubborn economic recession, it may be more important than ever. Being financially savvy does not come naturally to most people. Additionally, with rising prices for healthcare, college education, and housing, it is increasingly difficult to manage paying for … Read more
Another Valentine’s Day is upon us and, this year, it is coupled with a long weekend (pun intended). Countless numbers of people will be celebrating with their loved ones throughout the weekend, but with the extra days, there is more than enough time to spread the love around. In fact, it may even be beneficial … Read more
On those rare occasions when we are faced with the thought of our own mortality, the idea of dying slowly is uncomfortable. Often we see spry 90 year olds and hope to be them. We assume that when their time comes, it will be easily and in their sleep, just like we imagine it will … Read more
These days, more and more of everyone’s lives are online: paperless statements, Facebook accounts, Twitter, e-mail, and more. The online world is putting newspapers out of business, and driving Postal losses. Relics of your life are all over the web, and often remain after your death. In short, the internet is changing everything about our … 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...
