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Cheever Law, APC

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Cheever Law, APC

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There are many misconceptions about estate planning and whether it is necessary for people where estate taxes are not a concern.

We serve clients in a genuine, compassionate, and professional manner by listening to their concerns and fulfilling their wishes to create customized estate plans designed to keep families out of court and conflict in the event of incapacity and at death. We provide a full range of estate planning services, starting from counseling clients on what components they should consider and then implementing their wishes. Through the use of Trusts, Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney and Advance Health Care Directives, we help families preserve their wealth for future, avoid the process of probate, put a plan in place to ease the pain by family members at death and minimize exposure to estate taxes. For middle class individuals and families, estate planning provides tremendous peace of mind knowing that your affairs are in order. Estate taxes are only one component of planning. The more important part of planning involves naming guardians for minor children, establishing a trust for children, especially if the child has special needs, designating beneficiaries of your treasured possessions, and making decisions now that will help you in the event of an illness or accident in the future. Incapacity planning is an important aspect to estate planning by putting the right tools in place to avoid a Living Probate or Guardianship proceeding in the event that you become ill or disabled and you are unable to care for yourself. We also work with small business owners to help them navigate the legal landscape, focusing on minimizing exposure to loss and using strategies such as contracts and entity formation to protect their companies. Business owners are busy running their businesses and may not have taken the time to ensure their company is properly protected and structured. Cheever Law handles all aspects of business planning to ensure your business is protected and your chosen entity is in compliance in order to avoid any potential personal liability. Our practice includes Small Business Planning and Business Succession Planning.

10/10/2026

When someone passes away, do you know what happens to everything they owned?

In California probate, one important step is preparing an Inventory and Appraisal. It identifies the assets being administered through probate and establishes their value as of the date of death.

But here’s what many people don’t realize: not everything a person owned automatically becomes part of their probate estate. How assets are titled, whether they’re held in a trust, and their beneficiary designations can all affect how they’re handled.

In this week’s blog, I explain what California’s probate Inventory and Appraisal involves, the role of a Probate Referee, and why accurate asset information matters when settling an estate.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/california-probate-inventory-and-appraisal/

10/07/2026

Most of us have gradually moved huge parts of our lives online without really thinking about what that means if someone else suddenly has to step in.

Your spouse may know the password to your computer. Your adult child may know where you bank. But could they get into the email account tied to your financial accounts, retrieve tax records from the cloud, deal with two-factor authentication, or access the information needed to keep your household or business running if you were incapacitated?

Knowing a password and having the legal authority to act are two very different things.

Digital access has become an increasingly important part of incapacity planning, particularly as California law governing access to digital assets has evolved. An older power of attorney may still be valid, but that does not necessarily mean it addresses the way you manage your life today.

I wrote more about what families should be thinking about, what belongs in a modern estate plan, and why your passwords alone are not a plan.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/digital-assets-and-incapacity/

If your estate plan has not been reviewed in several years, this is one more reason it may be worth taking another look.

10/05/2026

A gift or inheritance intended to help a loved one with special needs can create unexpected problems if it is not structured correctly.

I have seen firsthand how well-intentioned planning can become much more complicated when money is left outright, placed in a custodial account, or directed to the wrong beneficiary. A UTMA account, for example, is not designed to provide lifetime financial management for a person with a disability.

The way assets are given matters.

In my latest article, I explain how Special Needs Trusts, beneficiary designations, custodial accounts, SSI, and Medi-Cal can fit together, and why families are often better off coordinating these decisions before the money legally belongs to the beneficiary.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/special-needs-trust-planning-gifts-inheritances/

If you are planning for a child or loved one with special needs, you can also download my Special Needs Planning Guide: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/get-the-special-needs-planning-guide-1/

10/01/2026

Did you know? Estate planning is about protecting you while you’re alive, too.

A complete estate plan can help ensure the people you trust can step in if you become incapacitated, make your wishes clear, and give your family guidance when they need it most.

Without a plan, important decisions may be left to the courts, adding stress and uncertainty for the people you love.

Planning ahead means making your wishes known before someone else has to make decisions for you.

09/29/2026

As September comes to a close, it is a good time to review something many people complete once and then forget about: the beneficiary designation on a life insurance policy.

For married couples, naming a spouse directly may be exactly the right choice. But in some estate plans, naming a trust can provide more control over what happens to the proceeds, especially when there are minor children, a blended family, or a desire to provide for a spouse while preserving what remains for children.

Having a trust does not automatically mean your life insurance should be payable to it. The beneficiary designation needs to match what you actually want the policy to accomplish.

In this week’s article, I explain the difference between naming your spouse and naming your trust, along with what to consider for children, contingent beneficiaries, and estate tax planning.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/spouse-or-trust-life-insurance-beneficiary/

09/25/2026

Your business may not look anything like the company you started five or ten years ago.

Maybe you have added employees, brought in another owner, taken on debt, purchased property, expanded your services, or built a company worth considerably more than it once was.

But has anyone looked at the legal documents since all of that happened?

Operating agreements, bylaws, shareholder agreements and buy-sell agreements are often signed when a business is formed and then forgotten. The problem is that those documents may eventually describe a business that no longer exists.

Changes in ownership, marriage or divorce, significant growth, changes in management, incapacity planning, and updates to your estate plan can all be reasons to take another look.

And for business owners, one of the most important questions is whether the business documents and estate plan actually work together if something happens to you.
I wrote more about what California business owners should be reviewing and why it matters here:

https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/update-business-legal-documents-california/

If it has been years since you looked at your company's governing documents, this is a good reminder to pull them out and see whether they still reflect the business you own today.

09/22/2026

You planned for one of you to go first. But what happens if you and your spouse die at the same time, or only days apart?

Most married couples plan for a first death and a second death. But the order and timing of those deaths can affect how assets pass, especially when trusts, beneficiary designations, and California law are involved.

But here’s what many people don’t realize: “everything goes to the surviving spouse” is not always the end of the conversation. Your estate plan may include survivorship requirements that determine whether assets pass to the spouse or move directly to the next beneficiaries.

In this week’s blog, I explain how survivorship provisions work in California, why the 120-hour rule does not automatically apply to every estate plan, and why your trust, beneficiary designations, and asset ownership all need to tell the same story.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/spouses-die-at-the-same-time-california/

09/21/2026

A little planning today can bring a lot more peace tomorrow.

You may not be able to predict what life will bring, but you can make thoughtful decisions now about what happens to the people, assets, and future you care about most.

PLAN TODAY. PROTECT TOMORROW.

Your future deserves more than good intentions. It deserves a plan.

09/18/2026

September is National Preparedness Month, which usually means emergency kits, evacuation routes, and making sure you have what you need if you have to leave home quickly.

But here’s what many people don’t realize: your estate plan is part of your emergency plan, too.

If you are suddenly hospitalized or unable to make decisions, would the people you trust know how to step in? Could someone make health care decisions, handle your finances, manage your trust, or care for your children and pets?

Having the documents is only part of the plan. Your loved ones also need to know who has been named, where important information can be found, and how the pieces of your plan work together.

In this week’s blog, I explain what to review to make sure your estate plan is ready for an emergency, including incapacity documents, trust funding, your chosen decision-makers, and access to important information.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/emergency-estate-planning-california/

09/16/2026

Your adult children are successful, responsible, and financially independent. So why would you leave their inheritance in a trust?

Because an inheritance can become part of your child’s financial world, where it may be exposed to professional liability, business risks, divorce, creditors, or other circumstances you cannot predict.

But here’s what many people don’t realize: an inheritance trust is not necessarily about controlling your adult child. It can be about protecting the inheritance for them while still allowing them to benefit from it.

A trust can provide flexibility for housing, education, family needs, investments, business opportunities, and other goals, while also keeping the inheritance separate from your child’s personal assets.

In this week’s blog, I explain why even financially successful adult children may benefit from inheriting in trust, what protections a continuing trust can provide, and what to consider when reviewing how your children will inherit.

Read the full article here: https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/inheritance-in-trust-for-adult-children/

Address

5938 Priestly Drive, Suite 103
Carlsbad, CA
92008

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+18584323923

Website

https://estateplanninglawyersandiego.com/contact

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