Will You Have An Estate Tax Issue Soon?
The year 2026 is quickly approaching, bringing substantial changes that may affect your estate tax situation. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017 significantly increased the federal estate tax exemption to $10 million adjusted for inflation. This is the amount you can gift or leave to your loved ones at your death without […]
5 Essential Legal Documents You Need for Incapacity Planning
Comprehensive estate planning involves more than just planning for your legacy after yourdeath, avoiding probate, and reducing taxes. Good estate planning also appoints people tomake legal, financial, and medical decisions for you if you are alive but unable to make thosedecisions for yourself (in other words, if you are incapacitated). What happens without a plan […]
What Do Cinderella & Marilyn Monroe Have in Common?
Desplácese hacia abajo para leer esto en español. Cinderella and Marilyn Monroe: two beloved icons and beauty queens whose similarities run deeper than meets the eye. Both of their tales share a common thread: the consequences of estate planning failures – proving that regardless of fame or fairytales, proper estate planning is crucial for everyone. Marilyn Monroe […]
Common Mistakes with DIY Estate Plans
The internet offers all the information and tools we need at our fingertips to create our own estate plan, right? For most people, this is simply not true. Several years ago, Consumer Reports®, an independent nonprofit consumer watchdog group, created wills using the forms provided by DIY websites and asked three law professors to review […]
Your Impact Matters!
A Special Honor from St. Jude Children’s Hospital Desplácese hacia abajo para leer esto en español. I have been blessed by the opportunity to work with and help St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and last week – much to my surprise – Directors from St. Jude brought me this beautiful plaque featuring a published article about my journey […]
“It’s A Mom Thing”
Desplácese hacia abajo para leer esto en español. A Personal Note from Firm Owner, Alex Varela I was really sad to hear Princess Kate Middleton’s cancer announcement last week. I have always really liked how she carries herself (not to mention her great fashion sense). But after listening to her video message announcing her recent health battle […]
The Perfect Solution for Choosing Your Child’s Guardian
If you have minor children and have not yet selected a guardian, you are not unlike many parents who put off this critically important task while waiting for the perfect solution to present itself. Or perhaps you and your spouse/partner cannot agree on who would be the ideal guardian for your kids. Here is your […]
Don’t Let This Crucial Question Derail Your Estate Plan
Sitting down to create or update your estate plan can be overwhelming. Crucial to a successfulplan is your ability to address two major questions: Who will get your stuff when you die, andhow do you want those individuals or charities to receive that stuff? Ways to Give Away Your Money and Property OutrightOne way you […]
Lessons Learned from Jay Leno
As many of you may not know, before law school I was a journalist, and had the incredible privilege of working at NBC News during my college years. The newsroom was right on the same lot that The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was filmed. Over my four years there, I had the pleasure of […]
#19 For Us!
Desplácese hacia abajo para leer esto en español. Celebrating 19 Happy Valentines Together This is Steve and I’s 19th Valentine’s Day together! And a lot has happened in those 19 years! We bought our first home, we had children, Steve made career moves until he landed a great job at Amazon, we survived my time in law school, and […]
