TEACHERS: THE LESSON PLAN FOR YOUR ESTATE

As Attorney Alex Varela steps back into the world of education, we are taking this opportunity to thank teachers for their time and dedication to teaching the future generation. Teachers, you provide the foundational knowledge necessary to ensure the success of tomorrow’s leaders. We are here to make sure you have the foundational estate planning […]

LOVE AND WHAT IS A TRUST PROTECTOR?

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away and I’m excited to go to dinner with my husband. We have been married for 14 years and together for 17 years this year. I included a photo from our wedding so you can see how young, rested, and thin we were before kids 🙂 In the last few weeks, many […]

REPEAL PROP 19

Dear Clients, Colleagues, and Friends: If you would like to sign the petition to repeal Prop 19 and ensure parents can pass their properties to their children without triggering reassessment of property taxes (usually a huge tax increase)  – You can sign at my office today 4/13, 4/14, or 4/15 before noon. I apologize for the late notice as I […]

NEW MEDI-CAL RULES YOU NEED TO READ

California recently changed the asset limits (not the same as Medi-Cal income limits) to qualify for Medi-Cal – California’s Medicaid program. In the past, a single person who had more than $2,000 of property could not receive Medi-Cal; that asset limit has been raised to $130,000 for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and a few […]

IS YOUR ESTATE PLAN A TRICK OR TREAT FOR YOUR LOVED ONES?

Failing to Appoint Trusted Decision Makers While Halloween, The Exorcist, or The Shining may top your list as some of the scariest horror films ever, I Care a Lot is the stuff of real-life nightmares. The movie I Care a Lot tells the story of a con artist named Marla Grayson who makes a living […]

THE FUTURE OF FINANCES: HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO BE MONEY SAVVY

Kids look to us to learn about life and they pick up far more from us about what we do then from what we say. Accordingly, we can best teach our children to be money savvy by modeling the habits we want them to take on for themselves and by involving them in the process. […]

HOW LEGAL PLANNING HELPS BUILD A STRONG BLENDED FAMILY

Yours, mine and ours … in today’s modern family, it’s oh so common. The blended family is the product of 2nd (or more) marriages, in which one or more of the parties comes with children from a prior marriage. And then, they may even go on to have children together.  If you have or are […]

THE REAL COST OF CARING

Dealing with the financial stressors of caring for an aging loved one can affect your ability to provide them with the care and compassion they need. It can also put the security of your financial future at risk. To mitigate these concerns, consider these useful tips to help you make informed decisions about how to protect […]

2017 CLIENTS’ CHOICE AWARD

Varela Law is excited to announce that we’ve been awarded a Clients’ Choice Award by Avvo. Thank you to our amazing clients who entrusted us with their estate planning and refer their family and friends to us. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve families and help people protect everything they own and everyone they […]

WHAT IS A TRUST?

A trust is a legal creation set up to benefit someone or something. For example, some people set up trusts to benefit their children, their grandchildren, or even charities. It is easiest to understand if you think about three separate people being involved. One person, called the grantor, funds the trust somehow, by placing money or […]