PB Law Blog... Trusts and Stuff

Spring has sprung! As our lives become busier, we tend to place organization on the lower end of the priority list.  Since Spring is the season of fresh starts, this is a great time to revisit the things you have been putting off and incorporate some tools to help you stay organized!

Landlords can be held liable for their tenants' discriminatory behavior... scary!

The worldwide web has provided us with great opportunity to be more independent as consumers. However, as convenient it may seem, you might want to think twice before creating an estate plan online!

Ahhh… Tax Season...  If you’re like many people, you may have filed an extension for your 2018 federal tax return, so take a look and see if any of these tips might apply to last year. Otherwise, be sure to make the most out of these ideas for your 2019 tax planning!

To Our Clients, Partners, & Friends,

Happy New Year!  We hope that you had a happy holiday and were able to get some well-deserved time off.  The new year has brought some big and exciting changes to Phillips Ballenger, and because we value our clients so much, we want to keep you in the know.

First and foremost, it saddens me to say that my wonderful assistant of 9 years, Donna DiNoto, will be leaving Phillips Ballenger on January 23, 2019...

Tax Fun for Business Owners!  A common dilemma that many business owners face is whether to own or rent a business property...

By: Shu Saito, CEO, Allfilters.com - Forbes, YEC CommunityVoice, Link

When California insurance broker Chris Thorndike awoke on Friday morning, he was besieged with an unusual amount of voicemail and inbox messages with the ominous title “Wildfire Updates”. From that moment on, Thorndike, who is President of NorthStar Risk Management & Insurance in Walnut Creek, California worked to help 15 of his clients under mandatory evacuation in the Malibu and Thousand Oaks area understand how their insurance would help them as the fires played out.

by Megan Gorman, Forbes 

How do you prepare your children to receive an inheritance?  What can you do now to make them better money managers?  Passing your legacy to your children requires acknowledgement of family values and fiscal preparation, early on.  

In addition to expressing thanks for all that you have in this world, take the opportunity, while your loved ones are relegated to one table, to discuss, or at least investigate, the following topics that will surely give them pumpkin to talk about.

By Cori A. Robinson, Esq., Above The Law | Link to original article here.

It’s currently estimated that only 9% of people with Wills include provisions for their cats, dogs, or exotic birds. And unless you already have a sibling or friend who’s explicitly pledged to look after Pawudrey Hepburn, that could leave your pet in limbo if something serious happens to you.

by Kristin Hunt, Everplans | Link to original article here