As a young girl, my extra-curricular activity was acting, singing, and dancing in large scale productions with a cast of 100, made up entirely of children. I couldn’t get on stage fast enough, and eagerly sang my heart out to an audience of 1,500 people. The acting bug was still inside me when I stood...Read More
California is a community property state, which means that after you exchanged your vows, all income generated by you and your spouse is shared equally between you. Agreements, inheritance or separate property may change the equation but generally, your spouse owns half of your business. The California courts have determined that the labors of one...Read More
A living trust is a written legal document that provides for the administration of an estate for the testator’s benefit during life, and then for their beneficiaries benefit upon death. A trust provides the opportunity to dictate how property will be disbursed upon death. It can also help ensure that assets will be managed according...Read More
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” If you don’t have a trust and your estate is larger than $150,000, then your heirs can count on the certainty of Probate too. Probate is a court supervised process necessary to transfer assets to the decedent’s beneficiaries when a person dies without a...Read More
There are many, many, questions that arise during a dissolution of marriage proceeding. Women who have not worked outside the home or whose job resulted in a smaller salary than their spouse often inquire as to how the property and money obtained during marriage will be divided. Some fear that they will only receive a...Read More
Over the years, the attorneys at Cottle Keen Lopiccolo & Heyde have taken many depositions. Many people did not like having their deposition taken, which is completely understandable. Under the California Code of Civil Procedure, an attorney can set the deposition of anyone who has relevant information to an active case. The Deposition notice commands...Read More
