858.792.5988

Serving San Diego for over 35 Years

Clients, Colleagues, and Friends,

I retired on Dec. 31, 2019, and officially closed my office, after 42 years of practicing law. I thank you all for your confidence in me and your friendship over the years. My colleague David Dufek who has shared the suite with me for the past two years is taking over my practice and will have all client files. Not only will David be taking over the practice, he remains in the suite and is taking over my fax and phone lines. You are free to leave your files with David or pick them up. David's practice like mine includes will, trusts, and probate, as well as personal injury work. He also does landlord - tenant work and debtor - creditor matters including bankruptcy.

I wish you all the best.

Alex

What Happens When You Have No Estate Plan?

When you don’t have an estate plan, you and your family lose control.  You have no say in what happens when you become incapacitated or die.  You have no say in who raises your minor children.  You have no say in who makes your health care decisions; , you have no say in who gets your assets when you die; and you have no say as to  whether or not you’re hooked up to life support machines for years.  If you want to be in control of your personal life and your assets, you need to create an estate plan.  If you have an estate plan, but it’s stale its been a long time since you looked at it, you need to review it with the aid of an experienced estate planning attorney to be sure it does what you want it to.

Consider the following questions that you may need to ask:

  • Who will take care of my bills and financial investments if I am incapacitated?
  • Who will raise my children if I am too sick to take care of them or if I die?
  • Who is entitled to get financial help from my assets when I am incapacitated?
  • Who will make medical decisions for me when I can’t give informed consent?
  • Who gets my assets when I die?
  • Will I be hooked up to machines to artificially extend my life?

If you don’t have your own estate plan,

  • If you become incapacitated and you don’t have an estate plan, your relatives will have to file for conservatorship for you with the court. That court proceeding (which is difficult and expensive) will determine who will manage your assets and who will make medical decisions on your behalf.  It may not be the person you’d choose; it may even be a stranger.
  • The court will decide who raises your children and it may not be who you’d want; in fact, if no family or friends step forward, your children will be placed into foster care.
  • If you become incapacitated, the court will decide how your assets are used.
  • When you die, state law will determine who gets what and it may not be who you’d want.
  • If you are in an irreversible coma or persistent vegetative state, you will have no say as to whether you are hooked up to life support machines or not; for example, Terri Schiavo was hooked up to machines for 15 years because she didn’t have an estate plan.

If you want to stay in control, you need an up-to-date estate plan.  Please feel free to call our office at (858) 792-5988 for a consultation on how we can help you create or update your estate plan and give you peace of mind.