When should you begin planning for Medi-Cal and long-term care and what steps can you take before applying? Planning for a loved one's care is very difficult and not properly planning can be an expensive and time draining matter. Learn what you need to do before trying to qualify for Medi-Cal in California.

Planning for long-term care and nursing homes is challenging. Sometimes we may miss the warning signs that a loved one needs help until it's too late. Attorney Dale Bethel discusses what to look out for so you aren't caught unaware and can plan for Medi-Cal if needed.

Attorney Andrew Bethel discusses the ins and outs of changing Trustees. The Trustee of a trust is the boss meaning there must always be someone in the office. Removal, resignation or death of a trustee are complicated matters to address and have a lot that one should be aware of when working with a trust.

Being a trustee of a trust can feel like having a full-time job. Under the CA Probate Code, trustees are entitled to compensation. The question then is, how much compensation to trustees get? How is it calculated?

Who do you trust to be in charge of your estate after you die? Being a trustee is a large responsibility and entails needing to do a lot of work. Your trustee needs to be a responsible person but what else needs to be considered when picking a trustee?

What happens to a trust when one spouse dies? The answer almost entirely hinges on whether one of two words is present and governs whether the trust is amendable and revocable by the survivor, whether the trust is then set in stone, or must be split into subtrusts.

What happens if co-owners of a property in joint tenancy die at the same time? What if there was a trust? For property in joint tenancy, the answer depends on whether the death is truly simultaneous under the law. A good Trust will have provisions to account for such a situation.

The wealthy now have more time to avoid estate and death taxes, thanks to a recent change by the IRS. Tax planning during life as well as at death is an important part of estate planning. Through the concept of portability, estate taxes can be mitigated, it not outright avoided, and the IRS has made this process easier.

Estate planning is not only for the sick and elderly. There are three factors to consider when determining whether you should begin planning your estate: planning for care now, planning for care later (for yourself and/or loved ones), and planning for the disposition of your estate. Here, we'll discuss what those three factors mean.

The legal world is full of Latin phrases to name or describe legal concepts that often shed little to no light on what the concept means. Some of the most common examples are per capita, per stirpes and the phrase by right of representation. Here we'll discuss the differences between these phrases as well as the often forgotten per capita at each generation.