Written by Robert T. Nickerson Have you ever seen an ad for estate planning and thought, “There’s no way I could ever afford something like that”? You’ve probably seen a lot of stories about the wealthy that’ve spent a lot on lawyers in order to have their assets prepared for their family. I’ll tell you…

Written by Jill Roamer J.D. Undue Influence is when someone pressures another in such a way that the person being influenced is not acting by their own free will; they are being coerced into taking a certain action. The person being influenced does not understand the repercussions of their actions. Recognizing undue influence is a…

Written by Robert T. Nickerson Whenever a family completes or updates their estate plan, the immediately feel a sense of accomplishment. Happiness and security are other thoughts and emotions that probably come with it too. The whole point of an estate plan is to give families ease of mind by having their assets, property and…

Written by Jill Roamer, J.D.  Last month, California legislatures passed AB 133, which is creating quite the stir in the elder law community. In particular, section 364 therein is especially surprising. It states, in its entirety:“SEC. 364. Section 14005.62 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:14005.62. (a) (1) Notwithstanding any other law, for an applicant or beneficiary…

Written by Robert T. Nickerson ​A lot of people do have an idea that they should have some kind of general last will and testament in the worst-case scenario. But you’d be surprised by how many people will ask “how” their supposed to be used. Do will begin use before or after someone is deceased?…

Written by Jill Roamer , J.D.​Each year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) puts out their “dirty dozen” list. This is a list of scams that are prevalent that the IRS wants everyone to watch out for. Let’s see what’s going on in scammer-town this year. The scams fall into four main categories: pandemic-related scams; scams…

Written by Jill Roamer J.D.  When an agent steps into the shoes of a principal, does that require the agent to ensure every cent belonging to the principal go towards the principal’s care? What if the agent instead gifts that money to family? Is that fraudulent? This issue was explored in a recent case out of the…

Written by Jill Roamer, J.D.  SSI benefits are means based. Meaning, there are strict financial criteria that must be met to receive the benefits. The SSI program was meant to help disabled, aged, or blind individuals with limited financial means. If a benefits recipient has too much property or income, benefits could be cut off….

Written by Robert T. Nickerson In November of 2020, Samuel D. Ingham III, the attorney who represents Britney Spears had filed a request to remove her father, Jamie Spears, from her conservatorship. The reason given was that she was afraid of her dad and would refuse to perform as long as he was involved with…

Written by Robert T. Nickerson ​No one likes talking about death. Even thinking about it sets off a lot of uncomfortable emotions. This is often why most people wait for a while before people finally consider planning around for the worst case scenario. Sometimes…they don’t make any plans at all. The stress becomes too great…