Residential Short Sale Can Be A Trap

Underwater loans and a difficult real estate market have made short sale of homes a popular alternative to bankruptcy or foreclosure.  However, bankruptcy may be a better option than short sale.  Homeowners, trying to do the “right thing” are learning that no good deed goes unpunished.  The short sale of homes often causes more problems than it solves.  To learn more follow the link below or contact me via email at Daniel J. Alexander II or by phone at (951) 737-4040 x1.

Residential Short Sale Can Be A Trap

Probate For Dummies....

Probate = "A lawsuit, you file against yourself, with your own money, for the benefit of your creditors." 

Credit Estate Planning Seminar given by Shadi Ala'i Shaffer

If you have any questions about how to avoid probate, please contact me at (951) 737-4040 ext. 1 or The Personal Family General Counsel

Do I Need a New Will if I move to Another State?

http://estateplanninginfoblog.com/2010/11/%E2%80%9Cdo-i-need-a-new-will-if-i-move-to-another-state%E2%80%9D/

Top 10 Ways Burglars Enter Your Home

http://www.homealarmmonitoring.org/year/top-10-ways-burglars-enter-your-home/

Write Your Own Life Story......

I routinely take calls from family members who have lost a loved one and they are trying to write an obituary for them. This can be a very difficult for family members to write, especially during the immediate aftermath of loss. Many times I hear, "there must be an easier way to do this." No one wants to write their obituary in advance because it's such a difficult thing to consider, but a great alternative is writing your Life Story for their family to help them with this at the time of need. 

Your Life Story can be fun to write and it can also be a way to include your family to get some of their favorite memories and thoughts. Many times, writing a Life Story can encourage you more than you can ever imagine, because you'll hear what you've meant to people and they will open up to you like never before. In addition, this can be a time for you to tell your family how much they mean to you. This is also an opportunity for you to share stories that they may have never known about your childhood and other parts of your life. 

The best way to begin is to get started now. This is not something that you want to put off. Write down your ideas on paper and try to think about all of the most important events in your life. This can be about your childhood, your education, your wedding, children and grandchildren... Also, perhaps include your involvement in your place of worship and other organizations with which you are involved.

Get your friends and family involved and have fun with it.  If you need help getting started, feel free to contact me at (951) 737-4040 ext. 1 or The Personal Family General Counsel.

Have you planned for your funeral?

I am 42 years old and I have been to enough funerals to know exactly how I want mine to go down.  I have already put together a slide show with music up to 42.  It includes one of my favorite pictures of  me in pink curlers when my mother tried to give me a Jheri Curl. 

If you come to my homegoing celebration you are going to smile, laugh, dance and remember "Danny, Dan, Daniel, Mr. Alexander or whoever I was to you."  You will leave with a smile on your face and wonderful memories in your heart (unless, of course, you didn't like "Danny, Dan or Mr. Alexander," in that case just send a card and stay home)  I would hate for someone to plan a somber event to honor my death.  Death is a very real part of life, along with taxes. Yet, funerals are the only life cycle event most folks don't want to plan in advance.

Despite the fact that humans have a 100 percent mortality rate, we don't expect to die. If you don't expect to die, you're unlikely to preplan a funeral. And that leads to problems like family discord, higher costs, rote rituals devoid of meaning, and unnecessary stress added to grief.

Wedding planning gets way more attention than funeral planning, even though both events can conceivably cost the same, given a modest wedding and a traditional funeral. Yet, if the bride and groom planned their wedding the way most folks plan a funeral, they'd be scrambling to pull everything together in three days--talk about stress!

We are mortal. Our bodies eventually stop working. Many religions teach that the soul, the spirit that resides within our bodies as long as we breathe, lives forever. So, why fear death, and by extension, why fear funeral planning?

To talk about funeral planning, we would have to admit that this joy ride called life has an end. We'd have to look at how we've lived our lives, examine how we've acted and review what we've done with our time on Earth. We'd be forced to look at how we've treated others, and think about what others would say about us at our funerals. We'd need to take stock of our achievements and contributions to humanity. Perhaps we are afraid we'll find ourselves lacking.

There are other reasons. Medical advances have saved so many lives so many times, it seems like death is optional. We don't like the thought of losing the company of those we love. We avoid thinking or talking about death, perhaps for fear that its contemplation will precipitate the event. And many folks just don't know what to do anymore when it comes to death.

Robert Fulghum, who wrote All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, also wrote a lovely book called From Beginning to End: The Rituals of Our Lives. Fulghum wrote, "For most of us, once we die, we are no longer in the care of our families and friends -- strangers and institutions take over... Death is not in our school curriculum."

He added, "Instead of a normal part of life, death is treated as an unexpected emergency, something that happens when the medical community fails. We always die 'of something' -- as though if it weren't for that disease or accident, we could have lived on. 'Old age' or 'worn out' or 'life completed' are concepts not found on death certificates or in obituaries. Death in our time means crisis."

In fact, according to one hospice nurse I know, no one has died of old age since the 1950s. That's when death certificates were changed to require listing a specific medical cause of death, such as a heart attack, dementia, or pneumonia.

We use euphemisms for death: passed on; kicked the bucket; gave up the ghost; checked out; left the building; keeled over; took the Big Bus; caught the last train; bought the farm; paid the ultimate price; pushing up daisies; knocking on the Pearly Gates; taking a dirt nap; and gone to the Great (whatever) in the Sky.

You, me, all humanity, we will all need to be disposed of when we die. If you don't talk about what you want done with your lifeless body, you will leave your family and friends in a world of hurt if the Big Bus unexpectedly runs you over tomorrow and transports you to the Pearly Gates. Do everybody a favor and make some plans. It's best to put your two cents in now, while you still can.

Just as talking about sex won't make you pregnant, talking about funerals won't make you dead--and your family will benefit from the conversation. Start a conversation today.  If you have any questions about funeral planning or any other aspect of planning for your death, please give me a call at (951) 737-4040 ext. 1 or email me at The Personal Family General Counsel.

Why do you need an Estate Plan?

When a loved one dies, the family is often too grief-stricken to be able to calmly and rationally deal with disposition of assets and belongings. Added stress may exist if a family is coping with the loss of one or both parents of minor children. It is best therefore, for everyone to ensure that they have thought things through ahead of time, and engaged in estate planning while still in good health, in order to reduce uncertainties. What exactly is estate planning and how do you do it?

Your estate is the sum of everything that you own before your death, as well as anything that comes into place - insurance, pensions etc. - after your death. This includes your house or other real estate that you own, money in savings or investments, retirement benefits, pensions, any collectibles you have or other personal belongings, as well as any death benefits paid out by your insurance company after your death.

Estate Planning is not just for the wealthy or the elderly. It is something that should be done by young couples - especially those with children - and single people as well. Most people have more assets than they realize; it is best to begin to protect them just in case anything was to happen. Estate planning should be undertaken before you need it; while it may be unpleasant to think about death or becoming medically incapacitated, you need to make these decisions while you still can.

There are two main reasons to do estate planning. The first, and most common reason, is to be able to determine how your assets will be divided amongst your loved ones. This helps prevent disputes, but more importantly makes sure that those who need the most protection, care and funding are taken care of after you are gone. However, the second reason to do estate planning is one that is often ignored; planning for what will happen if you are incapacitated and unable to provide direction for your own assets, medical care etc.

In protecting, and determining division of your assets, the most commonly used tool is a will. While wills can range from video to hand-written or even wills uttered on the deathbed, most people do not have information to create a will that addresses all contingencies. If a will is not properly executed the will go through an extensive and expensive probate process that will delay access to the funds by those who may need them the most. Estate planning law can be complicated and it is best to consult someone who specializes in drawing up wills and trusts to help reduce the amount of taxes paid and ensure a speedy process.

Finally, guardianship is the process by which someone who is incapacitated can be protected. The role of the guardian is to both protect the assets of the individual that they are responsible for, as well as ensuring that this individual has food, clothing, shelter etc.; that they are provided will all the necessities of life. The guardian uses the incapacitated person's money to provide the care that they need so you should ensure that your future guardian is someone you will trust implicitly. Guardianship attorneys have a dual role in helping you select and plan for your guardian, and in helping your guardian carry out their duties to you. 

If you have any questions regarding estate planning, feel free to contact me at (951) 737-4040 or Personal Family General Counsel.

Five Documents That Should Always Be Reviewed By Your Personal Family General Counsel

This is a great article written by Attorney Suzanne Sayward regarding five documents that should always be reviewed by an attorney.

While the advice to “never sign anything without your lawyer” is common, the notion of having everything reviewed by an attorney is a bit extreme for most people. However, there are certain documents for which this is always highly recommended. Here are five documents you should never sign without the advice of counsel.

1. Your Child’s Apartment Lease.

It is very common for landlords to ask for a co-signer on a rental agreement when the tenants are college students or young adults leasing their first apartment. Beware! The liability of a co-signer is not limited to payment of the rent in the event the tenant defaults; it extends to all of the covenants in the lease. Most standard leases contain a provision that the tenant will “indemnify the landlord from all liability, loss or damage arising out of the tenant’s use of the property.” This means if your child hosts a party during which someone is hurt because the porch collapses, and if that injured person sues the landlord, the landlord is going to look to the tenants to indemnify him under the terms of the lease. This is also true with respect to property damage such as broken appliances, holes in walls, or water damage from an overflowing bathtub. Since most college students are high-risk occupants with few assets to back up their behavior, the landlord will be seeking redress against mom and dad as the co-signers. Also keep in mind that your liability as the co-signer is not limited to your child's actions or even your child's proportionate share of any damages. As the co-signer, you could end up on the hook for 100 percent of any liability whether the damage was caused by your child or by his roommates.

2. Purchase & Sale Agreement.

A Purchase & Sale Agreement is the formal contract signed by buyers and sellers regarding a real estate transaction. Although the title of this contract may be “Standard Form Purchase & Sale Agreement,” there is no standard agreement that is suitable for every buyer and seller. Since the purchase of a home or other real estate is most often a buyer’s biggest investment, it does not make sense to sign an agreement involving hundreds of thousands of dollars without having it reviewed by a qualified attorney who is prepared to represent your best interests throughout the entire transaction.

3. Fiduciary Bond.

Although being asked to sign a fiduciary bond is not nearly as common as the other documents discussed in this article, it is a trap for the uninformed and can result in a whole lot of trouble. A fiduciary bond is a probate court document required to be filed by a person seeking to be appointed as an executor of an estate or as a guardian for an incapacitated person. The bond is essentially the petitioner's promise to the court that she will do a good job and properly manage the assets of the estate or the assets of the incapacitated person. In some cases, the court will require “sureties” on the bond, which is similar to a guarantor. If you sign a bond as a surety you are promising the court that if the fiduciary negligently manages the estate, or worse, steals money, you will reimburse the estate for the loss. If someone asks you to sign as a personal surety on a bond, it’s imperative you consult with your attorney to review the situation and understand your potential liability.

4. Estate Plan Documents.

You can find free legal forms for everything these days, including Wills, Powers of Attorney and even Trusts. However, when you’re planning for your family's future, there is a lot at stake. It is important to take the time to consult with a competent estate planning attorney who can advise you about and prepare documents appropriate to your situation. I have been a practicing estate planning attorney for almost 25 years and I still find that every client's situation is unique in some way. Whether it’s planning for a child with disabilities, a family business, a vacation home, a parent who needs care, or rental real estate, each situation needs an estate plan that is specifically tailored to address the needs of that family. Cookie-cutter forms just don't cut it.

5. Loan Guaranty.

There is a popular idiom that defines a guarantor as “an idiot with a pen.” While it might seem obvious that if you sign as a guarantor on a loan for someone you might actually have to pay back that loan, many people seem to sign with the assumption they will not have to do so. This is a move that you could end up regretting for a long time. If you are asked to co-sign a loan, do so with the assumption that you will have to pay the loan in full. If you are not willing or able to do so, it’s important to give the situation careful consideration and realize that by signing a loan guaranty, you are not only taking a financial risk, but you are putting your relationship with the borrower at risk as well.

Attorney Suzanne Sayward is a partner with the Dedham law firm Samuel, Sayward & Baler LLC and served as the 2009 president of the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MassNAELA). For more information, visit http://www.ssbllc.com/.

The original version of this article can be found at http://www.dailynewstranscript.com/news/x1526281743/5-documents-that-should-always-be-reviewed-by-an-attorney

These are all issues that could be and should be reviewed by your Personal Family General Counsel.  If you encounter any of these issues and you reside in the State of California, please feel free to contact Daniel Alexander II @ My Personal Family General Counsel or (951) 737-4040 ext. 2.