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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

• Who your kids should live with and if that person(s) is financially, physically and mentally able to care for your children.  You should also consider how your children feel about the person(s) you choose as their guardian.
• If the person(s) you choose to raise your children is the same person(s) you would choose to manage their money or should you select a financial advisor as well?
• Discussing your selection with your other family members and, most importantly, with the guardian(s).
• If your children have any special needs that may dissuade your chosen guardian(s) from taking care of them.
• Naming alternate guardians in case something happens to your first choice and they are unable to fulfill their duties.
• Ensuring you have the proper financial instruments in place to provide for your children’s physical and educational needs.

Obviously you don’t need $12 million to ensure your pet is appropriately cared for after you go.  A qualified California estate planning lawyer can assist you in executing a pet trust as part of your estate planning process.

In a pet trust, you give your pet and enough money or property to sustain it to a trustee, someone you trust to care for your pet according to your wishes.  The trustee is usually different from the pet’s eventual caregiver; a trustee is charged with executing the terms of the trust so even if the caregiver becomes incapacitated or for some reason can no longer care for your pet, the trustee is responsible for finding another suitable caregiver.

A California estate planning attorney can help you determine how much property or money you need to leave for the care of your pet.  Leaving an amount that is too large can cause the court to reduce the amount, which it eventually did in the Helmsley case.

An estate planning attorney can also advise you of different financial instruments available for funding your pet trust, such as a life insurance policy or annuity.

The judge agreed to block the sale, but imposed a bond of $250,000 on Luckinbill to get a restraining order issued – a financial condition she could not meet.

Luckinbill was at odds over the sale with Susie Morton, the widow of Gary Morton, who was Ball’s second husband.  Ms. Morton had consigned several items that belonged to her deceased husband and Lucille Ball to a Dallas auction house for sale, including a Rolls-Royce, love letters, photos and some of Ball’s personal effects, including several achievement awards.

Luckinbill had sought to stop the sale of the love letters and awards, which she wanted to go to a museum honoring her mother.

Morton’s lawsuit claimed that Luckinbill had forfeited her right to the letters and awards after Ball’s estate was distributed following her death in 1989.

Although high visibility because of the actress’ great popularity, this kind of case happens more often that you would think because people fail to update their will.  Anything you believe will be of value to heirs should be distributed according to your wishes and spelled out in your will – especially if you are part of a blended family.  A California estate planning attorney can help you create and update your will.

Tax historian Joseph Thorndike was quoted as saying that there is a “death incentive” every time Congress raises the estate tax, but with the potential estate tax “re-set” next year to a top rate of 55 percent and only a $1 million deduction, 2011 could see the largest increase in a major tax in history – and a potential escalating number of “gruesome” cases as the clock runs out on 2010.

Many estate planning advisers are telling clients to look carefully at their powers of attorney documents this year, and to also pay close attention to their health care proxies.

The WSJ article said that many Washington insiders think that Congress will not act this year because of an already crowded legislative agenda and the fall election.

The Senate is currently divided between three possible solutions – the pre-Bush rate of 55 percent, a 35 percent rate with a more generous exemption and a return to the old 45 percent rate and $3.5 million exemption per individual.

In an Associated Press article, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who will be charged with implementing the new law, said the Senate vote represents a “far-reaching step toward preventing a replay of the recent financial crisis.”

Besides instituting new reforms aimed at reining in the excesses of recent years on Wall Street, the new law will create a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to develop and enforce regulations on mortgage lending, credit cards and other financial products.

The new law also gives the government new powers to break up companies whose poor financial conditions threaten the economy.

To download a copy of the entire Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010, click here.

To learn how the new laws may impact your financial or estate planning, consult with your California estate planning attorney.