Wills & Trusts: Where You Begin

Class recorded May 1, 2020.

For updated information on estate planning in California, including the current dollar limit for small estates, click here and here.

Planning for the end of life, illness or disability is complicated, and it’s hard to know where to start. Preparing proper legal documentation now, while you are still able, can protect your loved ones financially and emotionally in case of death or incapacity. This class provides you with the legal basics, including the different ways of ensuring that your money and property pass to your heirs the way you want and with as little trouble and expense as possible (wills and trusts), plus the options available to make sure you receive the medical treatment you want at the end of life (advanced health care directives). You will also learn about free resources available to help. Learning important legal fundamentals about wills, trusts and advanced health care planning can make your legal journey easier and more successful.

Class covers:

  • The importance of writing a will and/or creating a trust
  • Pros and cons of trusts vs. wills, and why you might need both
  • Do-it-yourself estate planning vs. hiring a lawyer
  • What probate is, and how to help your heirs avoid it
  • Different types of trusts, and when each is appropriate
  • Advanced health care directives: how to make sure you receive the medical treatment you want during severe illness or end of life

Course Materials: If you would like to receive a copy of the course materials for any of the classes, including any PowerPoint used, please register at the Register Now! button for the class, provided below. A staff member will email you the course materials (usually within one business day)."

Video Recordings: We recognize that not everyone can attend in person classes, so even if you can't make it in, please watch any of these recordings and remember that we are still here to help! Call us at (213) 785-2513, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or chat with us online to get help finding information and resources on any legal (or not-quite-legal) question. Access to the video recordings is free.

Dated Material: Please note that the law changes. The original recording date for each class is provided on the display page. To be certain that you receive up-to-date information, please attend the in-person class, or contact us for help researching or updating your specific legal issue.

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

 

LIVE ZOOM: Know Before You Sign On the Dotted Line: Reading & Negotiating Business Contracts

Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

New and growing businesses must enter into a variety of contracts, with landlords, suppliers, and clients, to name a few. Learn how to read common “boilerplate” contractual language and negotiate contractual terms to your advantage.

Class covers:

  • Contract law basics
  • Essential terms of a commercial lease: what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable
  • Essential terms of a contract for goods or services
  • “Typical” contracts negotiated by business people
  • Caveat emptor: how to avoid problematic contracts

Participants are encouraged to join by video as class may involve sharing of visual information and writings, participation via the chat function, and the opportunity to interact with others. Virtual networking reception to follow class.

Presented by Gina Pak:
Gina Pak
is the COO and Co-founder of Lawgood, a legal tech company that is helping business owners with their everyday legal contracts through a combination of real lawyers and artificial intelligence. Prior to Lawgood, Gina was as a corporate lawyer at large firms in New York and Los Angeles working with Fortune 500 companies. She was also a law professor at Peking University. Gina graduated from Columbia Law School.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

Business Series: Know Before You Sign On the Dotted Line: Reading & Negotiating Business Contracts

Tuesday, September 17, 2019  12:00 p.m. — 1:30 p.m.

New and growing businesses must enter into a variety of contracts, with landlords, suppliers, and clients, to name a few. Learn how to read common “boilerplate” contractual language and negotiate contractual terms to your advantage.

Class covers:

  • Contract law basics 
  • Essential terms of a commercial lease: what is negotiable and what is non-negotiable
  • Essential terms of a contract for goods or services 
  • “Typical” contracts negotiated by business people
  • Caveat emptor: how to avoid problematic contracts

Presented by Gina Pak:
Gina Pak is the COO and Co-founder of Lawgood, a legal tech company that is helping business owners with their everyday legal contracts through a combination of real lawyers and artificial intelligence. Prior to Lawgood, Gina was as a corporate lawyer at large firms in New York and Los Angeles working with Fortune 500 companies. She was also a law professor at Peking University. Gina graduated from Columbia Law School.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

LIVE ZOOM: Branding and Marketing 101

Tuesday, April 5, 2022: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.

--- CLASS WILL BE HELD VIA ZOOM. ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME ---

Effectively communicating the value of your product or service is essential to your business success. Learn how to attract and retain your customer base through creative branding, channel marketing, and smart promotion.

Class covers:

  • Defining and protecting your brand
  • The different marketing channels available, and the strengths and weaknesses of each
  • How to integrate branding and marketing across multiple channels and platforms
  • Basing your marketing initiatives on research and data
  • Approach to marketing on a budget

Presented by: Erin Kapczynski (https://www.linkedin.com/in/erink)

Erin Kapczynski has built her career as a marketing executive for technology, media and advertising companies. 

Erin’s passion for marketing centers on looking at how a business can transform and grow, leveraging data and user experience, while building customer trust. Currently serving as consultant and advisor to leading startups and mid-stage businesses, Erin helps clients plan and execute customer acquisition, content creation, and branding – tying these pieces together to generate growth.

She has helped B2B (Business to Business) SaaS (Software as a Service) companies such MomentFeed and Greenfly; media companies such as Ranker and Demand Media (now LeafGroup); and AdTech giants such as System1 tell their stories and acquire new customers. Erin has also worked with DTC (Direct to Consumer) companies such as Wrench and OneRep, accelerating their marketing efforts.

Coming into the role via acquisition, Erin was formerly VP of Marketing for the media and technology platform Purch (Space.com and TomsGuide.com), where she oversaw all global consumer and corporate marketing that grew audiences and accelerated ad sales and lead-gen deals for partners to well over $100M in annual revenue. At Purch, Erin was also part of the executive team, seeing through multiple acquisitions, app launches, and a $135M equity round of financing. 

Prior to Purch, Erin served as VP of Marketing at Panache, an early mover and market-leading digital video ad tech business (B2B SaaS) that was acquired by WPP.  She also held senior-level marketing positions at Herbalife's HQ and Move.

Erin currently serves as an advisor at the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce's tech incubator Bixel Exchange, part of SBA’s SBDC (Small Business Development Centers) program, where she helps local startups establish product-market-fit and position them for capital infusion.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

Business Series: Branding and Marketing 101

Tuesday, September 24, 2019  12:00 p.m. — 2:00 p.m.

Effectively communicating the value of your product or service is essential to your business success. Learn how to attract and retain your customer base through creative branding, channel marketing, and smart promotion.

Class covers:

  • Defining and protecting your brand
  • The different marketing channels available, and the strengths and weaknesses of each
  • How to integrate branding and marketing across multiple channels and platforms
  • Basing your marketing initiatives on research and data
  • Approach to marketing on a budget

Presented by Erin Kapczynski:
Erin Kapczynski is V.P. of Marketing for Purch, a digital content and commerce company and the largest online technology publisher in the U.S., with over 100M monthly unique visitors. In this role, Erin oversees global consumer and corporate marketing that drives ad sales, eCommerce, and lead-gen, all amounting to more than $100 million dollars in annual revenue.

Erin has spent nearly two decades in the marketing field with a majority of that time working in the digital media and advertising industries. Prior to Purch, Erin served as VP of Marketing at Panache, a digital video monetization tech startup acquired by WPP, and a strategic marketing consultant at Demand Media. Previously, she held high-level marketing positions at Move.com and Herbalife HQ, where she focused on international marketing.

True to Erin’s borderline obsessive love of all things digital media, she has served as Interactive Emmy Awards judge, IAB MIXX Awards judge, and continues mentoring individuals and tech start-ups in the L.A.-area, as well as guest lecturing at the city’s premier universities, including UCLA.

A virtual L.A. native by way of Ukraine, Erin lives in Santa Monica, CA where she wears lots of sunscreen. When she’s not correcting people on the spelling of her last name, she likes to browse art exhibits and lift kettle bells. She speaks English, Russian, some French and a bit of Polish.

Registration fees: FREE - sponsored by the Friends of the Los Angeles County Law Library through the generous support of Pacific Western Bank.
Classes fill up fast, register today to reserve your seat! All registrants must check-in 10 minutes prior to class time to ensure your seat is not reassigned to waiting-list and walk-in attendees when classes are full.

Photography / Videography:
If you register for this class, you may be photographed or recorded. By registering for this class you are giving the LA Law Library your consent to photograph, videotape, record and broadcast your picture, likeness, voice and statements.  

No legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The Law Library is pleased to offer our patrons the opportunity to obtain assistance from third party legal service providers at this and other events within the Library. However, the Library does not control and is not responsible for the content or scope of any assistance given by those providers.

Hours / Location

LA Law Library
301 W. First Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
213-785-2529
Click Here for Directions

Hours:

Monday - Friday:
8:30 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday:
9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Branches / Partner Locations

Join Our Mailing List

To get more information about upcoming classes and events, please click here to join our mailing list.

Follow Us...Like Us...

Follow the LA Law Library on Instagram to see our latest posts.

Federal Depository

Federal Depository Logo

The LA Law Library is a selective government depository for both the U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) and State of California materials.

Accommodation Requests

CLICK HERE to fill out the Request for Reasonable Accommodation form.

© LA Law Library 2024