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LONICH PATTON EHRLICH POLICASTRI
1871 The Alameda, Suite 400, San Jose, CA 95126
Phone: (408) 553-0801 | Fax: (408) 553-0807 | Email: contact@lpeplaw.com
LONICH PATTON EHRLICH POLICASTRI
Phone: (408) 553-0801
Fax: (408) 553-0807
Email: contact@lpeplaw.com
1871 The Alameda, Suite 400
San Jose, CA 95126
Located in San Jose, Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri handles matters for clients in northern California, specifically San Jose and Silicon Valley. Our services are available to anyone within the following counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and San Francisco. For a full listing of areas where we practice, please click here.
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The Importance of an Advance Health Care Directive
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichAn advance health care directive is a written instrument that describes your health care wishes in the event of your incapacity or injury. It serves to inform family members and healthcare professionals about your wishes and desires when you are unable to do so. The importance of having an advanced health care directive is often overlooked.
An advance health care directive can address several key issues, including whether or not you want doctors to resuscitate you if you stop breathing or if your heart stops, if and when to use breathing machines or dialysis, and whether you wish to be an organ and tissue donor. While many people prefer not to think about their own mortality, it is important that your loved ones know your desires before it is too late for you to express them. In addition, an advance health care directive allows you to choose an agent to act as your attorney-in-fact. Your attorney-in-fact is the person you designate to make health care decisions for you. Appointing such a person in advance often helps alleviate family tension during difficult times.
To find out how you can protect your family by incorporating an advance health care directive into your estate plan, please contact our estate planning attorneys at Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri for more information. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Celebrity Engagements Remind Couples of the Importance of the Prenup
/in Family Law /by Mitchell EhrlichOver the past year, numerous celebrity couples have stepped forward with plans to marry. In early November 2010, Nick Lachey announced he was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Vanessa Minnillo. The couple had been dating for approximately four years prior to the engagement. Shortly after Nick announced his soon-to-be marriage, news of Jessica Simpson’s (Lachey’s ex-wife) engagement surfaced. Unlike the long courtship of her ex-husband, Simpson had only been dating her now-fiancé, NFL player Eric Johnson, for five and a half months prior to the engagement. Additionally, Kelsey Grammer, who is not yet divorced from his third wife, announced plans to wed his fourth, Kayte Walsh. With all of the buzz around celebrity engagements and divorces, one can only hope that these pop culture icons will enter into prenuptial agreements to protect their sizable assets.
Jessica Simpson has allegedly learned a valuable lesson involving the dangers of marrying without a prenuptial agreement. Simpson’s decision not to sign a prenuptial agreement with Lachey reportedly cost her around $10 million. Rumors in early December 2010 show that Jessica has learned her lesson and will “definitely” have a prenuptial agreement prior to marrying Johnson.
Unlike Simpson, Grammer does not appear to have learned the importance of the prenup. Grammer’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Camille Donatacci, has just recently rejected Grammer’s offer to settle their case for around $30 million. Because Donatacci and Grammer did not enter into a prenuptial agreement prior to marriage, Donataci appears to be holding out for at least $50 million in addition to child and spousal support. According to Perez Hilton’s blog, an insider close to the couple shares that Grammer is “deeply in love” with Kayte Walsh would not “insult her by asking her to sign a prenup.”
As divorce rates rise, family law attorneys recommend that engaged couples consider entering into prenuptial agreements prior to marriage. Prenuptial agreements are especially recommended if either party has significant assets or owns real estate. For more information on California prenuptial agreements, please visit our website. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Sources:
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/how_camille_got_more_M6sGhLN4M07esaEQP6AKaJ
http://perezhilton.com/2010-12-30-kelsey-grammer-not-getting-prenup-for-third-marriage
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/dailydish/detail?entry_id=76889
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/inside-jessica-simpsons-e_n_786165.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/15/joe-simpson-reacts-to-jes_n_783508.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/09/2010-12-09_jessica_simpson_will_have_a_prenup_with_eric_johnson_report.html
What is Domestic Violence? How You Can Get an Emergency Protective Order
/in Family Law /by David PattonNote: People can tell what internet sites you have visited on your computer. Be safe, and use the internet at a local library, friend’s house, or at work!
Domestic violence is not just physical violence. It includes spoken, written, emotional, and physical abuse. It includes hair pulling, sexual assault, breaking into the victim’s home, stealing the victim’s property, etc. A verbal threat of physical violence or a pattern of harassing behavior is also considered domestic violence. Domestic violence is never acceptable, and it is also known as “abuse.”
In order to constitute domestic violence, the abuser and the victim must have a close relationship (i.e. married, divorced, separated, dating or dating in the past) or be related (i.e. parent, child, etc). Domestic violence is not only damaging to the victim, but it is destructive to children living in the home as well.
If you are in danger, ask a police officer to request an “emergency protective order.” You can ask for this order at any time – day or night. An emergency protective order only lasts for five court days or seven calendar days. Thus, before the emergency protective order expires it is highly suggested to seek a longer-term restraining order by filing the papers in family court.
If you need emergency shelter, or help with a restraining order, you can contact any of these local Santa Clara County resources:
24-hour crisis hotline (800) 572-2782
24-hour crisis hotline (408) 279-2962
24-hour crisis hotline (408) 279-2962
24-hour crisis hotline (408) 683-4118
24 hour crisis hotline 510-794-6055
For more information on how to protect yourself, or to proceed with a divorce, please contact our family law attorneys at Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
Two Reasons Why Your Family Business May Need a Business Succession Plan
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichAccording to the Small Business Administration, about 90 percent of all U.S. businesses are family owned and controlled. Unfortunately, only about 30 percent of these businesses pass successfully to the second generation. What is worse is that only about 15 percent of those then pass to the third generation. A comprehensive business succession plan can ensure that your business continues in the family for generations to come.
There are two important reasons why you should have a business succession plan in place. First, a business succession plan provides liquidity for owners. While some business owners have sufficient savings to transfer their business to the next generation, others rely entirely on their business for income. For those relying on business income, it is important to ensure the company will be able to fund the owner’s retirement plan. If the owner desires to transfer the company to a younger generation, periodic gifts and sale of stocks to these individuals over the years should be part of their business succession plan.
Second, a business succession plan may allow a client to minimize the impact of transfer taxes. For example, if successors to the business include grandchildren, the federal generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax might be imposed in addition to the estate tax. As the tax implications can be quite large without a business plan, your family may be forced to sell off company assets in order to pay the transfer taxes. However, careful planning and use of estate, GST, and gift tax exemptions are essential to minimizing the aggregate affect of taxes on your business.
Please contact our firm, Lonich Patton Erlich Policastri, for more information on how to create a successful business succession plan. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.
“Do It Yourself” Estate Plans Can Be Problematic
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichAre you a person who is intrigued by a deal? If so, you should understand that a “bargain-priced” estate plan may really not suit your needs nor save you money in the end. While there are many online templates for wills, you need to be very careful when creating an estate plan without an attorney. Each state has different rules and regulations on what makes a will valid and enforceable. In addition, the differing financial and personal goals of individuals call for unique estate plans.
The need for caution when looking for a “bargain” estate plan was expressed in an article by the Morgan Law Group that wrote that regardless of whom you designate as a beneficiary to your IRA in your estate plan, the proceeds of your IRA will actually pass to whomever the beneficiary is on your IRA beneficiary designation document. Although you may be able to create a trust online, in order for it to be effective, you must follow very specific steps to fund your trust.
For more information about estate plans tailored to your specific needs, please contact us. Please remember that each individual situation is unique and results discussed in this post are not a guarantee of future results. While this post may include legal issues, it is not legal advice. Use of this site does not create an attorney-client relationship.