Prop 8 politics aside, most unmarried couples in California – gay or straight – should know that estate planning is essential to provide the necessary legal protections for passing on property and other assets, making medical decisions for each other and planning for the future of any children that may come from the partnership.

In California, unmarried couples can enter into a civil union or domestic partnership that will give them several of the same legal rights that married partners enjoy — however, these laws do not protect you if you move out of state.

So, if you have not entered into a civil union or domestic partnership, what protections can estate planning provide to you?

First, inheritance.  No matter how long your relationship lasts with your significant other, if one of you dies without a will, your assets will not automatically go to the other.  So designating your life partner as your heir via a will or trust is imperative if your wishes are that he or she inherit your estate.

If you want to be able to make medical decisions for each other – especially in case of a traumatic injury or other emergency – you need to give your partner a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.  This will allow your partner to have full access to your medical records, your physicians and will empower them to be able to make medical decisions for you if you cannot.

And if you want to be able to make financial decisions for each other, another Durable Power of Attorney can be put in place that grants those rights to each partner.

If your company’s employee benefits plan or the servicer of your other retirement accounts does not allow you to name an unmarried partner as beneficiary, you may be able to create a trust to receive those assets upon your death, and make your partner a beneficiary of that trust.

Estate planning tools like health care directives, living trusts, durable powers of attorney, guardianships and conservatorships can help unmarried partners put in place some important legal protections for their families and each other that married couples automatically enjoy just by being married.

For more information on proper estate planning for unmarried partners, contact our California estate planning law firm.

According to Donate Life California, the official California organ and tissue donor registry, there are currently over 21,000 Californians awaiting an organ transplant.

There continues to be an urgent need for organ donations in the U.S. and California, with over 7,000 Californians on the donor waiting list who will die before a suitable match can be found.

If you live in California and wish to become an organ donor, you can do so by visiting www.donatelifecalifornia.org to register.  You must be at least 18 years of age.

The website also provides information about donating bone marrow, blood or making a living donation of a kidney or other organs that can save a life today.  According to the site, more than 6,000 Americans become living donors every year and one in four of these are not biologically related to the recipient.

You should also be sure to include your wishes as part of your California estate planning process, including specific language within your Living Will, Advanced Medical Directive or Health Proxy.  Check with your California estate planning attorney to see what is necessary to include organ donation in your estate plan.

Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are out to change the world, not just with their money but with half the wealth of 38 other billionaires.

According to a Reuters story late Wednesday, the philanthropic campaign launched by Buffett and Gates in June – The Giving Pledge Campaign – has gotten another 38 billionaires to pledge half of their fortunes to charity.

Some of the more notable names include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Ted Turner, Barry Diller, moviemaker George Lucas, energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens and Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

The article noted that since June, Gates and his wife have approached 70-80 billionaires and asked them to donate half their fortunes either during their lifetime or upon their death.  The billionaires are not asked to donate to any specific charity, just to donate.

According to Forbes, there are 403 billionaires in the U.S.  Gates and Buffett plan to host several events this year to recruit more U.S. billionaires, and also to travel to India and China to try to recruit more there.

You can visit www.thegivingpledge.org to view a full list of the billionaires and read their letters explaining their decision to give.

You can also visit a California estate planning attorney to learn more about setting up a charitable trust or other giving options.

Many of life’s activities that used to be done face-to-face or through the mail are now done online.  We bank online, we invest online, we buy and sell online, we keep up with friends and family online, and we even date online.

So what happens to your online identity and records after you are gone?

Savvy estate planners know that their client’s online identities and accounts must be protected after death just as well as their assets and properties are protected.  It is all too common today that a loved one trying to access a decedent’s online accounts and records is unable to do so because many popular sites like Google and Yahoo will not divulge account information to anyone but the account holder.

There are websites like LegacyLocker.com that provide users with a system for storing all their online information, which is then made available to named beneficiaries utilizing a secure process upon the account holder’s death.

You can also create your own secure repository of your online account information and passwords and leave a printed copy or an electronic file for your beneficiaries or the executor of your estate.

Consult with your California estate planning attorney about ways to protect your online identity and assets in your estate plan.

The Washington, D.C.-based Employee Benefit Research Institute has released a study showing that 47 percent of American workers aged 56-62 – the Baby Boomer group – have not saved enough to last through their retirement.

In addition, the study found that 44 percent of workers aged 36-45 are also likely to run out of funds during their retirement years.

The EBRI researchers noted that the longer a person has been invested in a 401(k) retirement plan, the more likely it is they will have enough saved for retirement.  However, the researchers also said that most retirement account balances are still relatively low – meaning that more Boomers will need to work well past the traditional retirement age, and younger workers need to engage in retirement planning as soon as possible.

In addition, the study showed that higher income workers are also at risk – albeit a smaller risk — for financial problems in retirement due to escalating healthcare costs.

If you’re concerned about having the financial ability to maintain your desired lifestyle during retirement, contact our California estate planning law firm.