Community Property vs Common Law Property

There are basically two types of property law in the United States.  One is common law property, which is based on British law, and the other is community property law, which is based on Spanish law.  Those states where the Spanish influence was strong tended to become

Inheritance and Estate Planning

Inheritance and Estate Planning

Inheritance and estate planning are too easy to postpone.  Even though life is fragile, we tend to think we will live forever.  You can probably come up with a number of reasons to postpone your estate planning.  I don’t want to hear them. Your parents can probably

How to Put Property in a Trust, or Funding a Trust

How to Put Property in a Trust, or Funding a Trust

“How do I put property into a trust?” is a question I often get after someone forms a living revocable trust.  This is an important question.  Putting property into a trust is also known as funding the trust.  Funding a trust is the engine that runs a