Creating a Suitable Legacy for Your Art Collection

July 30, 2021 There are so many factors to consider when collecting art, not the least of which is what to do with it at the end of your life. Because it could grow to be a significant part of your taxable estate, careful planning is necessary during your lifetime to ensure that these valuable … Continued

When Does It Make Sense to Hire a Professional Fiduciary?

Silicon Valley has long served as a beacon throughout the country and world for the best and brightest technology professionals seeking career and economic opportunities. Within the counties of Santa Clara and San Mateo, 38% of the residents were born outside of the United States as of 2017,1 and countless more are domestic transplants from … Continued

Choosing the Right Executor Part 1: Key Characteristics to Consider

One critical component of a solid estate plan is the named successor trustee(s) and executor(s). This is the person (or people) who will safe-guard and carry out your wishes at death. Every situation is different and there is no one-size-fits-all solution, however there are some universal considerations that may help you organize your search for … Continued

Estate Planning for Your Digital Assets

As our lives are increasingly spent online from bill pay, to email and blogs to Facebook and Instagram, have you thought about what happens to your digital assets when you die? How will your successor trustee, executor or loved ones gain access to important records or treasured photographs stored in a vault in the cloud? … Continued

Shrinking Home Values to Enlarge Wealth Transfers

In the alphabet soup of estate planning jargon, the acronym QPRT is one of the more familiar — if not fully understood — terms and it represents a popular and rather common technique for potentially passing significant wealth amongst generations using family homes with little or no gift or estate tax consequence.  The letters stand … Continued

When Dementia is Present: Preparing and Protecting Family Wealth

Tragically, developing Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia can rob families of the joy of the golden years. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 67 seconds someone in the United States develops Alzheimer’s. Because on average women live longer, they are even more likely than men to develop dementia – almost two thirds of … Continued