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What is a power of attorney? And do I need one?  A Power of Attorney for Financial Affairs gives your designated agent(s) the authority to make legally binding financial decisions and transactions on your behalf, usually when you cannot manage your own affairs due to incapacity.  If you own any financial assets in your own name alone, without a joint tenant or an authorized signer, then yes, you need to designate a power of attorney.  Without one, no one is legally authorized to access those accounts to make management or withdrawal decisions on your behalf in the event you become incapacitated.

Another reason to designate a Power of Attorney?  IRAs and 401k’s.  These are considered individually owned assets and you cannot access your spouse’s IRA or 401k (to make management or withdrawal decisions) without being authorized to do so under a Power of Attorney. Similarly, your spouse cannot access your IRA or 401k in the event you were to become incapacitated without a Power of Attorney in effect.

There are risks to designating a Power of Attorney, so you need to pick carefully.  An experienced Estate Law attorney can help you make the right decision and walk you through the process.  The knowledgeable attorneys at Foresight Legal Group will make sure that the person you designate to have access to your financial accounts and records is the best person for the job.

Contact the Foresight Legal Group for more information on Power of Attorneys and to see if designating one is right for you.

I’m a divorce lawyer in California.  My family knows this, my friends know it… So it’s no surprise that I regularly get asked the question: “Do I really need a divorce lawyer for my divorce?”   Because I’m also an honest divorce attorney, I respond with the truth: “Technically, no.”  Without fail, I get an astounded look from the question-asker.  But it’s true, there is no California law that says you must hire a California divorce attorney to walk you through your divorce.

However, common sense and personal experience (I’ve handled hundreds of divorces) supports the hiring of an experienced divorce lawyer if you are going through a divorce.  Just like you probably wouldn’t buy or sell a home without the assistance of a licensed real estate agent, knowledgeable divorce lawyers provide you with the same sense of security and comfort.  Especially if your soon-to-be Ex has hired a divorce attorney.  Studies show over and over again that going through a divorce or legal separation is one of the most stressful, emotional times in a person’s life.  An experienced divorce attorney will walk you through the process and also shield you from some of the battles that undoubtedly arise when two people are dividing property, children, etc…

Additionally, with a knowledgeable divorce lawyer at your side, you will not have to worry about being blind-sided or taken advantage of by your almost ex-spouse.  There’s probably nothing worse than finding out after your divorce is finalized that the person you were once married to took you to the cleaners or otherwise manipulated you to get less than you rightfully deserve.

California is a community property state, which means there are many confusing laws about who is lawfully entitled to what property (financial, real estate, pets, etc…). An experienced CA divorce lawyer understands these laws and will make sure that you are protected during your divorce.

So, while CA state law does not require you to hire an attorney for your divorce, I always encourage my friends and family to hire one.  On too many occasions to count, I’ve witnessed seemingly ‘unfair’ divorces where the Ex with the attorney pulls one over on his or her Ex-spouse.  Don’t let that be you.

If you are considering a divorce or legal separation, contact the affordable divorce lawyers at Foresight Legal Group today.  We are always online and available to answer your important divorce-related questions.

You’re interested in starting your own business, becoming your own boss — good for you!  By now, as a regular reader of our blog, you know how to write a stellar business plan and have talked to an experienced small business attorney to determine which legal structure is right for your business. What’s your next step?  Simple: create a website for your small business!

In today’s web-based world, the website of your company has become the place where your potential clients get their first impression of your company.  As an online law firm, we understand the importance of a user-friendly, clean website that provides just the right amount of information. It’s crucial that a potential client’s Google search of your business pulls up an awesome, memorable website.

How you want your website to look will, of course, depend on your business.  A retail business will look different from a law firm or a tech company. You might want to consider hiring a website developer to put your idea into action and help you create the perfect website for your small business. Alternatively, there are lots of great free and/or inexpensive templates that you can download online if you’d like to do the work yourself.

As always, if you have any legal questions regarding your great new business call the knowledgeable small business attorneys at Foresight Legal Group today!

If you’re pregnant, or considering having a baby, you’ve probably heard how important it is for you to either write a will for the first time or re-write your existing will.  And if you’re like many people, you’re probably wondering why you need to wait to give birth to change your will or why changing your will immediately after you give birth needs to be such a priority.  An experienced wills and trusts attorney can help explain the answers to these very reasonable questions in detail.  In the meantime, here are a few reasons why updating your will to include your newborn is of the utmost importance.

First, you cannot update your will until after your baby is born because you need to explicitly name your beautiful child in the will.  However, before your child is born you need to consider naming a guardian for your child.  It’s a good idea to ask your child’s potential guardian if they feel comfortable accepting this role before you include them in your will.  Naming a guardian is especially important if, for some reason, you do not want your child’s living parent to obtain custody of your child in the case of your death.

Second, you want to make sure your assets go the individuals (family members, friends…) you want them to go to.  If you and a knowledgable estate law attorney properly structure your will, your assets will pass to these individuals.  Without a will, CA state law presides and certain family members and / or friends might not receive the assets you had designated to them.  More to the point, you want to be certain your child is protected and receives everything you want him or her to receive from your estate.

If you are pregnant or considering having a child, reach out to a knowledgeable estate planning attorney today.  The experienced attorneys at Foresight Legal Group are available online or by phone — contact them today!

On Saturday, Kim Kardashian and now-husband Kris Humphries tied the knot in a lavish wedding ceremony at an estate in the gorgeous, exclusive community of Montecito, California.  Kim, 30 years old, was married once before.  Humphries, a 26 year old NBA player, has never been married.  The ceremony took place in front of 450 of Kim and Kris’ closest friends and family.  Kim, who’s father Robert Kardashian passed away several years back, was walked down the aisle by her step-father Bruce Jenner.

Kim and Kris dated for about 8 months before they got married.  Kris proposed to Kim with a 20 carat diamond ring, which some believe Kim paid for herself by working out a publicity deal.  Makes sense because although Kris earns around $3 million a year playing basketball, the ring is worth an estimated $2 million.

Although it was her second wedding, Kim walked down the aisle in a white Vera Wang dress and wore a jeweled head band.  Kris wore a white tuxedo and the wedding colors were a very chic black and white.  For a short video of the Kris and Kim wedding, click here.

The couple is rumored to have signed a prenup before their big day.  Kris is estimated to be worth $8 million and Kim $35 million, so protecting their individual and pre-marital assets would have been a wise decision on both ends.  No matter what your net worth, signing a prenuptial agreement before your wedding is generally a good idea.  A properly written prenup will protect you in the case of divorce or, sadly, your partner’s death.  The family law attorneys at Foresight Legal Group can help you write the right prenup for you and your spouse-to-be.

For more information on prenup and post-nups, call or instant message one of the experienced family law attorneys at Foresight Legal Group today.

Hopefully you were inspired by our post last week, which encouraged you to start your own business!  You’ve probably been hard at work all week, perfecting your idea so that when you reached out to your small business attorney he was able to help you write your amazing business plan!  The very plan that inspired every bank to give you that small business loan you needed to get your idea into action.  Now that you have a business plan and funding, you need to decide which type of legal structure is best for your business.

If you haven’t reached out to an experienced small business or start up attorney, now is the time.  Making the decision about whether to form an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp is a very important one involving monetary commitments, tax deductions, and potential personal liability.  The first issue you will have to address is whether you want your company to pay taxes on profits before they are distributed to owners or you want the profits to flow straight through to the owners’ individual tax returns.  This is an important decision that an experienced small business attorney can help you answer, based on what is best for your business.

While making the decision about whether to form an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp isn’t an easy one, with the help of a knowledgeable start up attorney it doesn’t have to be a hard one.  And most importantly, by understanding the pros and cons of each legal structure (including the tax consequences of your decision), you will comfortable knowing that your small business and your hard-earned money is protected.

For more information about the LLC’s, S-Corps, and C-Corps, click here.  Or you can send an instant message to the knowledgeable small business lawyers at Foresight Legal Group here.  Foresight Legal Group — we make the law affordable.

In sad celebrity divorce news, Russell Armstrong — the almost ex-husband of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong — took his own life on Monday.  Sources say that Real Housewife Taylor was the person who found her estranged husband.  She had plans to meet up with Russell Monday evening and when he didn’t show up or answer any of her phone calls, she drove to his house where she discovered that he had ended his life through suicide.

While the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Taylor Armstrong, who has shared that she was a victim of domestic violence as a child, admitted a few weeks ago that her split earlier this month from ex-husband Russell Armstrong was prompted by ongoing physical and verbal abuse at the hands of her ex-spouse (Domestic violence is never acceptable.  If you are the victim of domestic violence, you can find support here.), sources are not certain this was what drove Russell to take his own life.  He was also supposedly struggling financially, filing for bankruptcy in 2005, and more recently telling interviewers that he was under financial stress.

Divorce can be a very difficult, sad time for both parties and children, if they are involved.  If you are considering a divorce or legal separation, it is important that you find an attorney who will understand your struggle and try to minimize any potential hardship for you and your family.  The Foresight Legal Group has counseled many individuals through the divorce process and will show you the compassion and guidance you will need during this trying time.  You do not have to go through divorce alone.  Reach out to the knowledgeable family law attorneys at Foresight Legal Group today.

For Immediate Release:

                        August 15, 2011

Media Contact:

Kristen Marquis – Kristen@KristenAnnLegal.com

FORESIGHT LEGAL GROUP ANNOUNCES 24/7 ACCESS – ONLINE!

Foresight Legal Group, PC has been toiling away behind the scenes to make working with an attorney as easy as entering a web address.  And we are excited to announce the incredible results: 24/7 interactive access!

Foresight Legal is a progressive law firm that leverages technology to bring individuals high quality legal services at an affordable price. Foresight Legal makes the law affordable and accessible — 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the comfort of your family room sofa!

Foresight Legal’s online platform enables clients and potential clients to reach out to the experienced attorneys at Foresight Legal merely by visiting its website.   From the website, you will be able to instant message or speak with one of the knowledgeable members of Foresight Legal’s team — at no cost to you!

If you’re a night owl,  or just loathe driving to an attorney’s office, Foresight Legal is ready for you.

The 24/7 online access makes Foresight Legal the easiest, most reliable  — and most progressive — law firm out there.

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Foresight Legal Group, P.C. is California’s Online Law Firm. We make the law affordable.

Three months after his divorce from Lisa Ann Russell was finalized, Saved by the Bell’s Zach Morris aka Mark-Paul Gosselar proposed to his new girlfriend, blonde bombshell advertising executive Catriona McGinn.  Those celebs certainly waste no time jumping back into the marriage game! What’s more: he proposed with a 5-carat ring from famed jewelry designer to the stars Neil Lane — there’s no way Catriona was about to turn Mark-Paul down.

We hope Mark-Paul paused to consider his assets before proposing… Mark-Paul has likely saved some of his earnings as a child star on Saved by the Bell. Without a prenup, his wife-to-be could potentially claim half of all interest earned on that money during their marriage as community property.

You’re probably wondering how, exactly, that works.  Well, California is a community property state.  That means that unless there is a written agreement to the contrary (i.e. a prenup), all property (money, homes, cars, artwork, etc…) gained during the marriage is considered half yours and half your spouse’s — even if you were the person who acquired the property.   A properly written prenup could prevent the court from automatically splitting your property 50/50, regardless of ‘ownership.’

If Mark-Paul didn’t ask his new fiance to sign a prenup, he doesn’t have to despair.  A prenup can be drafted up and signed by both partners up to the wedding day.

Are you considering starting your own business?  Great!  The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that they will be keeping short-term interest rates low (sending the stock market into a panic), continuing to make it possible for entrepreneurs just like you to potentially get a small business loan!  It is time for you to take that great idea you’ve been mulling over and make some money off of it!

There are several important steps you must take when you are considering starting your own business.  While hiring an attorney is not necessary, it’s probably wise.  You will face a number of legal issues and you will probably feel that much more comfortable knowing that an experienced start-up attorney has your back.  Also, having a knowledgeable business formation attorney on your team will save you time and energy.  There are forms every new business must complete, and the smallest error means a delay for you in getting your new business up and running.  Avoid this potential nuisance with the help of Foresight Legal.

Ready to get started?  Great!  First step is writing up a business plan.  Be detailed and thorough, as your potential lenders will be reviewing it carefully.  The experienced attorneys at Foresight Legal can go over your business plan with you before you meet with banks about obtaining a small business loan.

So get to work on that business plan!  We will be back with information on how to choose the right legal structure for your business… A very important decision.  Be sure to check our blog regularly for small business updates!