What California Homeowners Search for Most (and the Estate Planning Solution) Buying a home in California is hard. You have to find you, you have to submit an offer that actually get accepted, and then you have to get through escrow. All of these are mountains to climb. Most clients begin with a mortgage…
Newly Married? 10 Estate Planning Questions Every California Couple Should Answer You spent months planning your wedding. You chose the venue, the flowers, the music, the guest list, and perhaps even the seating chart. Now it’s time to plan for the life you are building together. Most newlyweds assume marriage automatically gives their spouse the…
LGBTQIA+ Estate Planning in California Is About More Than Money LGBTQIA+ estate planning in California involves much more than deciding who inherits assets after death. LGBTQIA+ couples, unmarried partners, transgender individuals, chosen families, and LGBTQIA+ parents often face unique legal risks involving medical decision-making, guardianship, housing, inheritance, affirming care, and incapacity planning. Without proper legal…
What Green Card Holders, Financial Advisors, and Lawyers Need to Know If you are a green card holder living in California or advising one, estate planning is not optional. It is foundational. And yet, it is often overlooked or delayed. Not because these clients do not care. Not because their situations are unusually complex. But…
Estate Planning for People Without Children in California Estate planning is often framed as something people do once they have children. Getting pregnant and having a baby is common trigger for estate planning. But we know that estate planning is for everyone. As soon as a person reaches the age of 18, no other…
A Conversation with Estate Planning Attorney Patricia De Fonte, Esq. A collaboration between Sheila McGinn, CFP® at Brightview Financial Solutions and Patricia De Fonte, Esq. at De Fonte Law PC Why I Love Working with Estate Planning Attorneys One of my favorite parts of being a Certified Financial Planner® professional is getting to work with…
7 Estate Planning Risks for Family Law Attorneys We love working with newlyweds at De Fonte Law PC! Most of them do not have prenups, and much of what follows applies to them as they have not had a chance to create community property yet. They are as vulnerable to unintentional disinheritance as are…
How Financial Advisors Can Spot Risk Early and Help Clients Avoid Probate, Conservatorship, and Preventable Failure Financial advisors are often the first professionals to see estate-planning problems, long before a legal crisis, medical emergency, or family conflict erupts. The warning signs rarely announce themselves loudly. Instead, they surface quietly during routine reviews: a trust drafted…
Divorce is not a single legal event. It is a multi-year financial, legal, emotional, and logistical transition. And yet, too often, divorcing clients are guided by only one professional at a time—usually their divorce lawyer—without a coordinated team supporting the full picture. From an estate-planning perspective, this is where things go wrong. During a divorce,…
Let’s start with the truth: estate planning is family work. It answers three core questions in plain English: What about me? Who protects my health, finances, and dignity if I can’t? Who has the keys, medical, financial, and digital, and how do they use them? What about my stuff? How do I avoid probate and…