I recently got the type of email that I still dread, after eleven years of doing this work. It doesn’t happen often, but it hurts when it does.

One of my clients just passed away unexpectedly.

One of the biggest questions that comes up when buying a home or other real estate is “how do you want to hold title?” In other words, how do you want to own the property? This question and your answer to it may soon be forgotten, but the impact continues throughout ownership.

Do you store your photos online, or password-protected on your computer? Do you pay important bills or monitor your finances through online accounts? What about your music collection?

One organ donor can save up to eight lives. One eye and tissue donor can enhance the lives of up to 50 people. And more than 28,000 lives are saved every year by organ donors. (See organdonor.gov).

Can you believe it’s autumn already? While many people are in back-to-school mode and we start to look ahead to holiday plans with friends and family, there is an important item that is often overlooked: Advance Health Care Directives (AHCDs) for everyone 18 and older. Everyone should have one, but AHCDs are especially important for college students heading off to college and any loved one who doesn’t live locally.

A lot of my clients ask: Does a Will Avoid Probate?

No.

It is often difficult to get a lawyer to give you a straight “yes” or “no” answer. There aren’t many questions in the legal world that can be answered so succinctly. But in this case, it is just that simple.

Failing to Create a Formal Guardian Nomination
(or “Doing Nothing and Hoping for the Best”)
In an ideal world you would always be there for your kids. But what if you couldn’t? Whether temporary or not, serious or not, shouldn’t you be the one to choose who’s there for your child at this challenging time?

I want to alert you to a scam that has been going on the past few years. At least two companies have been sending out intentionally confusing notices to homeowners asserting that payment is due for a copy of their records.

An important question to ask before hiring an attorney is: “What are you doing to protect my private information?”

It is the nature of our work that attorneys need to ask clients for a lot of sensitive data. The information we need to collect in order to represent our clients varies with the case and the client, but virtually every case deals with some type of confidential information. Whether it’s your social security number, account information, a secret business deal, or evidence in a civil or criminal lawsuit, you need to be able to trust that the information you provide to your attorney will be protected.

Like so many things in life, estate planning comes with its own vocabulary. Knowing more about these foundational terms and documents can help make the process of setting up your own planning feel more approachable.

As part of the estate planning process, you will need to make several choices.  Some of these choices include who will manage your property if you become incapacitated; who will make sure that your personal needs are met if you become unable to care for yourself; who will care for your minor children (if applicable) if you can no longer do so; and who will make sure that your health care wishes can be (and are) followed. These are some very personal decisions, and a lot of it comes down to who you trust, but there are a few things to consider that may help you decide.

This article was written by Marisa Catherine Nelson and published in the University of San Francisco Law Review in the spring of 2011.

It begins by giving an overview of the background of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), including the relevant constitutional law. It then describes the various challenges that have been made against DOMA, including lawsuits and recent changes in public opinion, state law, and the political arena.