Wills

Recently lost a loved one? Please know that you’re not alone. We’re here to help you through this difficult time and guide you on the next steps to take. We also encourage you to reach out and ask for help from family and friends in making arrangements for what comes next. This network of support is often more than happy to prepare food, look after children, help with arrangements, or simply...

An executor of a Will and Trustee of a Trust have distinct legal responsibilities and there are major legal liabilities at stake when confusing these two different roles. Let’s explore the differences. What does an executor of a Will do? If your loved one passed away with a Will, then an executor is named within the document or appointed by the court. The executor of a Will carries out the...

Welcome to CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers On September 1st, 2017, The Sydney Law Firm, P.C. was acquired by CunninghamLegal. Jeff Sydney and his wife, Alicia, decided it was the the right time for them to retire and pass the baton to our firm to serve his clients. We are honored that Jeff Sydney has entrusted his successful, long-standing practice to us at CunninghamLegal....

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers Trust Administration – What’s that? This is a question we get on occasion from clients.  The terms trust administration or trust settlement refer to the process of following through with the trust provisions and distributions after someone has died.  This process may involve helping the trustees (often a family member) with gathering and...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers In this article, Stephen M. Wood, Attorney in our Camarillo and Ventura County office discusses A-B Trusts and why you should consider having your trust reviewed by an Attorney now. Bypassing the “B” Trust Under the current estate tax regime, it is often unnecessary for a married couple to have what is commonly called an A-B Trust. The “A”...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers Ever hear this, “Don’t Settle,” or better yet, “Never Settle!” ?  These may be wise words to follow in certain aspects of your life, but what about your legal life, or specifically, your inheritance? After a person dies and their estate is being administered, unforeseen circumstances can arise that affect distribution of the estate.  Such...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers I often tell clients to consider a living trust like a box with instructions written on the side.  Assets, including real estate, bank accounts and brokerage accounts are put into the box.  The writing on the side of the box instructs a person (called the “Trustee”) what to do with the items in the box after someone dies.  Assets are “put” into...

Disinheriting a person it sounds easy but in practice can be difficult to accomplish. The first step is to determine whether the disinherited person is in line to inherit anything in the first place. Put it in Writing Generally speaking, if a person does not create a Will or trust prior to death or incapacity (think stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s) that person’s wealth is...

When you think about the price of having kids, the costs that come to mind may include things like child care, camp, braces and college tuition. What probably doesn’t spring to mind are mortgages, car payments or personal loans. The reality, however, is that your bank account will likely continue to be tapped long past the day your kids turn 21. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center report,...

Readers often ask me about do-it-yourself estate planning. Lawyers want to know how to discourage clients from using books or software and websites that spew out documents for free or for a fraction of what they charge. Meantime, consumers ask, “What’s wrong with that?” The trouble with do-it-yourself planning is that even if your situation seems simple, there are many oddball things a layman...