A recently announced movie featuring Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan will focus on the issue of women gaining the vote. The film will tell the story of the British women who championed the suffrage movement in early 20th century England.
It wasn’t really all that long ago that women could not vote, hold public office, attend certain colleges, or practice medicine or law. In fact, there was a time when women could not even legally inherit property. The children’s elegant mother in the movie version of Mary Poppins sings about votes for women. Readers of Jane Austen will remember the plot line in Pride and Prejudice focusing on the entailed estate that could only pass to a male heir.
As a 21st century female estate planning attorney, I am pleased to say that women today may do what was seemingly impossible only a century ago. Our world is still not completely gender-equal, but women today may assert their legal rights to a far greater extent than ever before.
In terms of my legal practice, I am also pleased to note that women need not defer to a husband or male relatives when it comes to estate planning. Every adult woman–and man–should have a current estate plan that includes a will, perhaps a trust, and perhaps encompasses other legal directives like guardianship designations for children. Gender is not an issue in my practice. Protecting my clients’ assets and providing counsel for any estate-related legal matters is my mandate, and I consider it a privilege. If you’d like to discuss your estate plan, craft or re-draft a will, or if you have other legal questions, please contact me to schedule a consultation. Call 818.956.9200.
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Glendale, CA 91207
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