Wearables Have Stepped up to Monitor Your Health

A Guideway Trust client, Shirley, decided that the new year was time for making long overdue changes to her life. She made an appointment to create a Living Trust, which includes a Power of Attorney and an Advance Healthcare Directive, that she’d been putting off for years. She started doing yoga twice/week and got serious about using the smartwatch her kids gave her for Christmas.

Smartwatches keep getting smarter

A 62-year old bookkeeper, Shirley has high blood pressure and some other health issues. She’s delighted with her smartwatch—she sets alarms during the day that remind her to get up from her desk and stretch–this is especially important as tax season looms. She now takes a brisk walk during her lunch break, and she’s using her smartwatch to monitor her blood pressure and oxygen levels.

Today’s smartwatches and other health-related wearables do a lot more than count steps or let you see how many calories you’ve burned.

Socks monitor foot temperature, helping reduce foot ulcers for diabetes patients

San Francisco-based Siren is producing a wearable for your feet–machine-washable socks for people living with diabetes and neuropathy. The socks come with a Bluetooth hub that plugs in and lets a team of nurses monitor the temperature of the foot, which Siren says has been shown to reduce diabetic foot ulcers by up to 87.5 percent. On the market for about five years, Medicare covers the cost. You need a prescription but not a smartphone.

Other health wearables on the cusp

• Swiss startup Aktiia announced plans to bring its automated wrist-worn 24/7 blood pressure device to the United States. The company has about 15,000 customers in Europe.
• Abbott announced a new line of consumer “biowearables” to continuously track signals for glucose, ketones and lactate. It will eventually track alcohol levels.
• Worn on the back of the arm, FreeStyle Libre is about the size of two stacked quarters and is used widely by diabetics. A tiny filament the width of three human hairs is placed just below the surface of the skin, where it measures molecular biomarkers. Data is sent via Bluetooth to an app on your smartphone every minute, giving users insights into what’s going on in real time. It’s available by prescription and lasts 14 days, when the user peels it off and applies a new one.

Information accuracy is best when backed up by a doctor or FDA

While there are no guarantees with these wearable devices, you generally can put more faith in a device that your doctor prescribes or recommends, or that has the blessing of the FDA.

Swiss company Aktiia plans to make its blood pressure watch available through doctors rather than as a direct-to-consumer offering, at least initially. The company is engaged in clinical partnerships and pilots in the U.S., including a study with hypertension patients at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. As the technology evolves, so will the safety and data protocols.

Data must be understandable and secure

When in doubt, reach out to your doctor. The onus is on the makers of the wearable devices to clearly explain what the data mean and the consequences. You should also be informed about a device’s limitations. A good example: When you launch the ECG app on the Apple Watch, you’ll see a message that says “Apple Watch never checks for heart attacks.”

If you’re not aware of privacy issues these days, you’re not paying attention. Find out how the device makers and medical providers plan to safeguard your information and keep it confidential. The FTC affirmed in September 2021 that health apps and connected devices that collect or hold fertility, glucose level, heart health and other health data must notify consumers in the event of a breach.

With the promise comes peril

“There’s promise in all of this technology, but also peril,” says Patrice Harris, chief executive officer and cofounder of digital health care company eMed and former president of the American Medical Association. “I always say proceed with caution and have some curiosity.”

Creating a Living Trust: One of the most thoughtful things you can do for your family

A Living Trust is a legal document that contains instructions for what you want to happen to your assets when you die. For my family, it meant that when my parents died, all of their affairs were in order, they had transferred all of their assets into the Living Trust and identified their heirs. Without a Living Trust, their estate would have gone into Probate and my brother and I would have been dealing with this long, expensive process—even while mourning the death of our parents.

Guideway is proud of our comprehensive Living Trust package that includes a Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley,

The Holidays. The Perfect Time to Talk about a Living Trust!

My family tried for years to get my folks to create a Living Trust. While my mom was an easy sell, it was my stepfather, Charlie, who was the holdout. A retired Navy pilot, we figured it was some kind of macho-military thing. He wouldn’t listen to my mom, his daughters or me. But one year during the holidays, my brother brought the subject up, explaining how difficult Probate can be for grieving families. Bingo. It took the intervention of a male for Charlie to take this seriously.

Charlie and my mom finally created their Living Trust when they were in their mid-70s. It took my brother’s intervening again to get my folks to update that Trust when they were in their early 90s. By that time, they were very frail, though they still had testamentary capacity. This update was important, as they’d made some good investments, and one of Charlie’s daughters had died.

Let’s face it—there’s never a great time to talk about end-of-life planning

Yet if your efforts to get your parents or other family members to create a Living Trust have fallen flat, it might be that the holidays are the time for this conversation to resurface. Additional family members may provide the support you need.

A Living Trust provides peace of mind

A Living Trust is a legal document that contains instructions for what you want to happen to your assets when you die. For my family, it meant that when my parents died, all of their affairs were in order, they had transferred all of their assets into the Living Trust and identified their heirs. Without a Living Trust, their estate would have gone into Probate and my brother likely would have been the one having to work through the Probate process for our family.

Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and a Healthcare Directive

A Financial Power of Attorney, a written authorization to represent or act on another’s behalf is an important part of life planning. As people age, it’s not unusual for their memories to fade and their thinking to become unclear. The time often comes when they can no longer pay their own bills, interact with their healthcare providers, insurance representatives and other professionals—yet it’s critical that they continue these services. Having a trusted family member or friend step in as Financial Power of Attorney means that the services and care they require will seamlessly continue.

An Advance Healthcare Directive specifies what actions should be taken for your health if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself because of illness or incapacity. We all like to think that we’re going to age gracefully and die peacefully in our sleep at a ripe old age, but the reality is that people have massive strokes, fall into comas and have debilitating accidents. Planning ahead and creating an Advance Healthcare Directive makes it easier for your family to care for you if an unfortunate situation arises.

A thoughtful gift for your family this holiday: Create or update your Living Trust.

With families gathered for the holidays, it’s the perfect time to encourage procrastinating relatives to create or update their Living Trusts. We’re proud of our comprehensive Living Trust package that includes a Power of Attorney and Advanced Healthcare Directive. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

 

Guideway services the entire Bay Area

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

California Reopening

Like most of our friends, associates and clients, we are looking forward to be officially reopening. While we adapted quickly to virtual delivery, we’re delighted to be providing in-person appointments again. For important legal matters, we’re finding that many people like the reassurance of one-to-one connections. We like it too.

A few fast facts about California’s place in the national reopening rollout

According to Governor Newsom, “There is no American recovery without California’s recovery.”

• We are one of the first states to lock down and last states to reopen.
• Social distancing and masking are mostly over.
• The coronavirus has infected some 3.8 million Californians and killed more than 63,000—more than any other state due to our population.
• The state’s approach to combating Covid has been walking a fine legal line between balancing civil liberties with public health needs.
• On Tuesday, June 15, Governor Newsom awarded ten prizes of $1.5M each from the vaccine lottery to those who had received at least one vaccine dose.

Keep those masks; you’re going to need them

• Masks will continue to be required in crowded and high-risk areas — hospitals, long-term-care facilities, public transit.
• Large indoor events, like NBA games and concerts, will require a negative coronavirus test or proof of vaccination for entry.

We’re still in the habit of social distancing

Social distancing is no longer required, but on my morning walks, it seems our old habits are hard to break. If someone’s approaching, one of us will step onto the curb to create space—even though the sidewalk is wide enough to accommodate several people and their dogs!

A sign of the times: Berkeley Bowl’s reopening

Berkeley’s venerated market, known for its nearly endless aisles of fresh produce, notified shoppers that it was okay to enter maskless if they were fully vaccinated. The reality? The vast majority of people entering the store around midday on Tuesday ignored the option and shopped fully masked. One shopper wasn’t taking any chances and wore two masks.

We’re the Bay Area, after all. We totally got this

We were the first part of the country to order residents to stay home when the coronavirus began spreading out of control last year. We were the area most diligent in complying with mask orders. Bay Area residents covered up even when outdoors, whether it was hiking the trails above the Pacific Ocean or schmoozing with our neighbors.

Sadly, we’ve all lost a year

Looking back, we’ve suffered profound losses. We cancelled vacations and spent the holidays alone. Sports seasons were weird, truncated affairs. We stopped going to the doctor, afraid we’d be exposed to Covid. We watched as people stood in food lines for hours. So many people lost their homes and livelihoods altogether. Many more lost family members and friends. Still more survived Covid, but are now dealing with lingering side effects that are sabotaging their ability to get on with their lives.

What have we learned?

How clever and resourceful we are. That we can Zoom just about anything. We’ve learned that we can live more simply, to rethink our values and identify what’s important. To be more flexible. To make decisions that benefit the greater good. And of course, to create a Living Trust! We have worked with so many clients this last year who have felt the urgency to have a Trust in place in case something happened to them. We’re all more vulnerable than we had imagined. This is not the first, nor will it be the last pandemic.

Creating a Living Trust is an important part of life planning

Our Living Trust package includes a Power of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directive. Having these legal documents in place now can help avoid confusion later on. We learned an important lesson from Covid: Once patients were infected with the virus, they were in no condition to be signing legal documents. We guide you through the process, and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

Your Living Trust: Avoiding the Pitfalls

A year of Covid has taught many of us about the importance of being prepared. For millions of people who were sick with this virus, having an updated Advance Healthcare Directive meant that their families could make critical-care decisions on their behalf. For the long haulers—those who continue to suffer the longer term consequences of Covid–having a Power of Attorney in place means that if necessary, a trusted friend or family can manage their financial matters.

A Living Trust means that your assets will pass to your family according to your wishes

A Trust means that they will not have to go through Probate, which can be a long and expensive process at what undoubtedly will be a painful time for your family. Yet an estimated 50% of Americans do not create a Trust. Others make mistakes that have disappointing consequences for the beneficiaries.

One of the most common mistakes we see is not funding a Trust

This can be confusing. Funding is the process of transferring ownership of your assets from you to your Trust. To do this, you physically change the titles from your individual name(s) to the name of your Trust. Your Trust can only control the assets you put into it. Make a list of your assets, which can include bank and brokerage accounts, fine art and antiques, real estate, intellectual property, savings accounts and vehicles.

For real estate, you will need to change the property’s title

If a property is in your name, you will change the name to that of the Trust. Owning property in different states does not necessitate having a separate legal document; you can include it in your Trust. A heads-up—if you do a refi, you will need to move the title out of the Trust, then move it back into the Trust.

Retirement accounts and beneficiary designations

What’s missing from your Trust are retirement accounts, annuities, 401k’s and life insurance policies. These do not belong in your Trust. For these accounts, you will name beneficiary designations that will supersede whatever designation you may have identified in your Trust.

For the accounts that do not go into your Trust, this example illustrates just how important it is to update the beneficiary designation. One of our clients went through a bitter divorce. When he remarried, he was careful to update his Trust. What he forgot to update? His life insurance policy and the 401k that still named his ex-wife as the beneficiary. If something had happened to him, it was his ex-wife—not his new wife—who would have been the beneficiary

Another estate planning issue: Failure to get an inheritance in writing

We see this happen regularly. Uncle Joe promises an inheritance to his favorite nephew Todd. This inheritance is significant enough that it will help pay for his college education, to the relief of his parents—they’re counting on this as part of their own financial planning. When Uncle Joe dies, however, there’s no mention anywhere of this commitment. If you intend to leave something to a loved one, make sure this is included in your Will or Living Trust. If a friend or family member keeps promising to will you something, encourage that person to get it in writing.

Keep your Trust and other documents updated

Keep your Trust updated with life events such as births, deaths, divorces or investments. I like to think of this as any life change that will affect an inheritance. Also review beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance policies. Relationships and alliances change. Periodically review all of these documents to make sure your estate plan truly reflects your wishes.

Where to keep your Living Trust

Guideway prepares a bound document of your Trust. We also provide a copy of your Trust as a pdf file. Keep these in a safe place in your home or office. We suggest that you share the location of these files with a trusted friend or family member. Unlike other legal documents, a Trust doesn’t get filed with the court or county. If you can’t find it, it doesn’t exist.

Planning for the future is vital to ensure that you and your family are protected and prepared throughout your later years and beyond.

Schedule an appointment to create or update your Living Trust: In-person or Zoom

We are delighted to be offering in-person appointments again! For those who prefer the convenience of Zoom, we can accommodate that as well. Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney, an Advance Healthcare Directive and a Pour Over Will. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

In-Person Meeting to Restate Living Trust

According to the CDC, those who have been vaccinated no longer need to wear masks in indoor settings. We’re still playing it safe, masking up and social distancing. And while we’ve gotten used to our Zoom meetings, the results of our recent survey indicated that many still prefer one-to-one communications. We’re delighted to be able to provide in-person appointments once again. 

Joan wanted a one/one appointment to restate her Trust

Joan scheduled an appointment in our Walnut Creek office last week to restate her Living Trust. She and her husband had created a Trust in 2005, and her husband died in 2019. At 83, Joan is active, grateful to be in good health. She knew the Trust process was going to be challenging for her, so she didn’t want to do it over the phone or Zoom.

Among Joan’s concerns was naming a Power of Attorney and an Agent for her Advance Healthcare Directive. She has three children who are now in their 60s, and five grandchildren. She is very close to two of her grandchildren. Allison is a banker who lives in Berkeley; Oliver, a vet, is in Boston. Both are in their 30s and likely to outlive her. They are smart, trustworthy and caring. She planned to name Allison her Power of Attorney and Oliver her Agent for her Healthcare Directive. They would be backups for each other’s roles.

 

When naming a POA, consider financial acumen and commitment of time

It might seem more logical to name her children for her Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directive—they’re older, retired. But one of Joan’s daughters lives in Spain, and the logistics make this unsuitable. Another daughter is in poor health, and Joan knows that these roles can require a significant amount of attention and some financial acumen. Her son has trouble managing money, so he was not a good choice. 

Joan is realistic about this decision. She knows that if she becomes incapacitated, the role of Power of Attorney could become a significant responsibility—managing expenses, paying taxes, getting her to doctors’ appointments, moving her to an assisted care facility if it became necessary, etc.

The role of Agent for your Advance Healthcare Directive

The role of Agent for a Health Directive is someone who is legally of age, responsible for making medical decisions on your behalf if you’re incapable of doing so. It’s often a spouse or an adult child.

It’s important that you talk to your agent before appointing him/her—not after a catastrophic event. Make sure this person is willing to take on the responsibility of making crucial medical decisions on your behalf—just as you have detailed. If a situation arises that’s not covered in the Directive, your agent will be responsible for making decisions based on what he or she believes is in your best interest.

Schedule an appointment to create your Living Trust: Zoom or in-person!

You now have a choice--via Zoom or an in-person meeting. Our Trust package includes a Power of Attorney, an Advance Healthcare Directive and a Pour Over Will. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

Probate: A Story of Greed and Conflict

Covid-19 has left many families grieving the sudden loss of their loved ones. As Guideway assists them in probating their estates, we’re sensitive to the painful loss of family members. In a best-case scenario, the Probate is uncontested by the surviving family members, the Executor settles the estate and it’s divided evenly among the surviving family. But in families where there are resentments and conflicts, the Probate process can be contested and it becomes more complex, as in the following story.

Father divided his estate equally among his three daughters

Dr. Johnson had lived a long, happy life. After his wife died, he modified his Will to make sure that each of his three daughters received an equal share of his estate—a palatial home, a Tahoe house and several luxury cars. As Dr. Johnson became more frail, his daughter Sarah and her husband, Bob, moved in to take care of her father. Her sisters helped occasionally, but Sarah and Bob were the primary caregivers. When their father died, the estate went into Probate, with Sarah named as the Executor.

Caregiver daughter’s fight for larger share of the estate resulted in legal battle

Sarah’s husband Bob believed that she deserved a larger portion of the estate because she had cared for their father for nearly eight years. Bob wanted to inherit the massive home in which they had been living in as they cared for Sarah’s dad. He also felt entitled to the cars and the Tahoe house. Sarah became caught up in the greed and ultimately began fighting for a larger share.

Sarah and Bob contested the Will; and a long, expensive legal battle caused a major rift among Sarah and her sisters. The case was finally settled with some concessions for Sarah and her years of caring for her father. The relationship among the sisters likely will never be the same.

Probate can seem overwhelming, but it’s actually a very methodical process

As part of Probate, the Court appoints an Executor to settle the estate, and Guideway works with that Executor throughout the Probate process.

The Executor is responsible for:

• Collecting all of the decedent’s Probate property
• Paying all debts, claims and taxes owed by the estate
• Collecting all rights to income, dividends, etc.
• Settling all disputes
• Distributing or transferring the remaining property to the heirs

Access to the decedent’s accounts

The Executor will be able to gain access to all of the decedent’s records–bank statements, savings accounts and income tax returns–to fully understand the financial landscape. This may include valuing assets, taking physical custody of assets and selling assets, as necessary, to pay off debts or expenses.

During Probate, the deceased’s estate becomes a separate tax entity. The Executor must obtain a federal tax identification number and open a bank account in the name of the estate from which to pay creditors. It is also necessary to file the estate’s tax return and a final individual tax return.

Distribution of remaining assets

Once all taxes and debts have been satisfied, the Court will then distribute any remaining assets according to state law. In California, as in most states, the first priority is given to the deceased’s spouse, followed by the deceased’s children.

How could this family conflict have been avoided? 

Dr. Johnson could have:

• Informed his daughters that he was dividing his estate equally among them. At that point, Sarah might have been able to make a compelling case for extra compensation for her years of loyal caregiving.
• Added a no-contest clause stating that anyone who challenges the document will receive nothing.
• Given away most of his estate to his children before he died.

Dr. Johnson could have saved his family a lot of grief if he had created a Living Trust

In this way, his daughters could have avoided Probate altogether. Sarah and Bob, however, still could have contested this agreement.

As the uncertainty of the Covid crisis drags on, many of our clients are scheduling appointments to create or update their Living Trusts. Our Trust package includes a Pour Over Will. For those families with children under 18, this means that they can name a Guardian rather than having the court appoint one for them. A Trust, with a Power of Attorney and Advance Healthcare Directive are providing peace of mind to many. Best of all, we guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. Schedule an appointment with Guideway today.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

You, Your Family, and Living Trusts: It’s Time for a Reality Check

 Just 42% of Americans have created a Will or Living Trust. It’s easy to put this off–it’s an unpleasant reminder of our own mortality. But Covid-19 has become a reality check, and there’s a new urgency to create a Living Trust. This is especially important for aging family members.

As your parents grow more frail, it’s time to talk about a Living Trust

Your parents may have created a Living Trust 20 or more years ago, but there’s a likelihood that it hasn’t been updated since then. This was the case with my own parents. They were in their early 90s, with a growing number of health problems. When my brother asked them about their Trust, my stepfather opened up a cabinet and 20 years’ worth of documents literally flew out it.

This was a very tentative time, because we were now flirting with the possibility of testamentary capacity–a growing legal concern. Fortunately, we were able to uncover their 20-year old Living Trust. A lot had changed in 20+ years, including a death and some sizeable investments. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we got this legal document updated, signed and notarized. After they died, my brother stayed involved, and it was much easier for him to manage their estate than to assume the role of administrator if we’d had to Probate it.

 

Does anyone else know where their Living Trust is?

If that Trust is updated and in order, someone in the family needs to know where the Trust is located. Unlike a Divorce or Deed, a Trust is not filed with the courts or county. If you can’t find it, it doesn’t exist. At Guideway, we organize and carefully prepare a hard copy of your Trust. We also give you a soft copy as a pdf file. It’s a good idea to share the pdf file with a trusted family member. When you want to make a change to your Trust, it’s easy for us to amend this.

 

What about your extended family?

Here in the Bay Area, many of us live with and/or are caring for extended families. Do you have an elderly aunt, uncle or grandparent, a close family friend? Are you the go-to person, the one everyone turns to with questions about business or financial matters? How likely is it that you’re going to be stuck with executor duty when your loved ones die? Now is the time to talk to your elderly relatives about creating a Living Trust and getting other life-planning documents in order.

 

We make creating a Living Trust easy

Our Living Trust package includes a Power of Attorney, an Advance Healthcare Directive and a Will. If you have children under 18, it means that you can select their Guardian rather than having the court appoint one for you. We guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents. We’re now working virtually via Zoom and phone. Schedule an appointment at Guideway today.

 

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.

Remembering AB5: The Pandemic and Gig Workers

Posted at 10:18h in Blog, Wills And Revocable Living Trusts by janet 

It was just a year ago that California’s independent contractors, or gig workers, kicked off the year wondering how to either leverage or circumvent AB5, the law intended to give them workplace benefits. Lawmakers assumed that companies would comply with this new law and convert those gig jobs into full-time positions. While pure in its intent, those who framed this law may have underestimated the scale and reach of the gig economy. Many gig workers are seasonal, others are temporary and/or work part-time in the evenings or weekends. Others are retired seniors who work part time to supplement their social security. The bottom line: Millions of Americans have been working as contractors for years because they need or want the flexibility these jobs provide.

AB5 reconfigured the employment landscape

AB5 intended to fundamentally alter the working conditions for professionals as diverse as musicians and journalists, construction workers, truck drivers and ride-share providers. It includes physical therapists and massage therapists, all of those who work backstage in our theaters and concert halls. It’s the person who cleans your home or office and the great tech guy who responds to your computer meltdowns. The handyperson who’s a whiz at home repair projects is self-employed and not on anyone’s payroll to receive benefits. The people who cut and color your hair, do your nails, walk and groom your dog and deliver your takeout. They’re all gig workers. They’re often doing work they love, but there are no vacation benefits, no sick leave or 401k.

What happened to AB5 when the Coronavirus struck?

By Mid-March, AB5 took a backseat to the looming coronavirus crisis. Here in California, we began a lockdown order that extended through May. This is when nothing was open but grocery stores and pharmacies. We fought over the last roll of toilet paper and there wasn’t a bottle of bleach to be found on grocery-store shelves.

It was gig workers who moved to the front lines of the crisis

Delivery workers, truck drivers and other independent contractors were and still are the essential workers who are keeping the world moving. Since gig workers are classified as independent contractors, these essential worked long hours without benefits.

Before the pandemic, tentative court rulings related to AB5 began to trickle through the superior courts of California. California v. Maplebear Inc., decided in February, a case in which the city of San Diego alleged that a same-day grocery delivery company maintained “an unfair competitive advantage” by misclassifying its shoppers as independent contractors and evading the worker protections under California law.

In April, Judge Vince Chhabria of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California heard an emergency injunction filed by Lyft drivers.

So what’s next for AB5?

As unemployment numbers continue to grow and unemployment claims hit historic levels in California, many are turning to gig work to make ends meet. This may or may not be the time to either suspend or enforce this law. Some criticize AB5 for standing in the way of helping the state’s economy scratch back from the impacts of the pandemic. Here are two sides of this highly controversial topic:

• Graham Walker, the executive director of the Independent Institute in Oakland: “Just when they need the flexibility, AB5 has come along and stifled them. I don’t think Californians who are hurting can afford the limitations forced on them by AB5.”
• According to AB5’s author, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego): “I think it would be the worst time to suspend it. These are billion-dollar companies who are publicly traded, they have enough money to treat their employees correctly.“

The coronavirus will take priority—at least for now

Our legislators and medical experts all tell us that we can’t do anything until we “crush the virus”. Many of our clients are dealing with the pandemic’s uncertainty by creating Living Trusts. Knowing that your family will inherit your estate as you have planned is providing some peace of mind for many of our clients.

Our Living Trust package includes a Power of Attorney, an Advance Healthcare Directive and a Will. If you have children under 18, it means that you can select their Guardian rather than having the court appoint one for you. Schedule an appointment at Guideway today. We guide you through it and we prepare the legal documents.

We service the entire East Bay and North Bay areas

Berkeley, El Cerrito, Richmond, Pinole, Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley Newark, San Lorenzo, Concord, Alamo, Danville, Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Pittsburg, Antioch, Brentwood, Oakley, Discovery Bay, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Tracy and Fremont. Our clients also live in the Napa Valley, Benicia, Vallejo, Martinez, Fairfield.