Betsy Simmons Hannibal

Betsy Simmons Hannibal

Attorney

Betsy Simmons Hannibal is a Nolo Senior Legal Editor specializing in Estate Planning. Her work centers around managing the editorial contributions to Quicken WillMaker & Trust. 

Estate planning books. Betsy also edits many of Nolo's best-selling estate planning books, including Make Your Own Living Trust, Plan Your Estate, Estate Planning Basics, How to Probate an Estate in California: A Step-by-Step Guide, Quick & Legal Will Book, and Get It Together: Organize Your Records So Your Family Won't Have To.

Press contributions. Betsy regularly speaks with journalists who want to know more about estate planning and probate. Here is some of the content to which she has contributed:  End-of-Life-Planning Is a "Lifetime Gift" to Your Loved Ones (NPR's Life Kit), What Is Probate and Can You Avoid It? (HowStuffWorks), Probate Workarounds Can Save Your Heirs Time and Money (NerdWallet, syndicated by the AP), and A Brief Guide to Estate Planning, (Wirecutter, The New York Times).

Early career. Before joining Nolo, Betsy trained at two private law firms, as well as the San Francisco Superior Court and the Federal District Court of Northern California. She is a graduate of the Honors Lawyering Program at Golden Gate University School of Law, where she served as the research editor of the law review.

While she currently lives too far from her home state of California, she is enjoying the temperature variation provided by the mid-Atlantic seasons.

Articles By Betsy Simmons Hannibal

Estate Planning for Pets
You can plan to make sure that your pet has a good life after you die.
ABLE Accounts in California: A Savings Plan for People With Disabilities
ABLE accounts help you meet your needs while remaining eligible for SSI benefits.
Making a Will: Indicate Your Marital Status
When you make your will, you should include your marital status or domestic partnership status.
Can a Special Needs Trust Pay for Food and Shelter?
If you are serving as trustee of a special needs trust, you need to know whether you can use trust funds to pay for food or shelter.
What Will Happen to My Snapchat Account When I Die?
Snapchat is not forthcoming about what happens to the accounts of deceased users.
What Will Happen to My Yahoo Email Account When I Die?
Yahoo will delete your account after you die if there's been 12 months of inactivity. But there are ways to plan for managing your account after death.
The California Statutory Will
California law provides a free fill-in-the-blank will for California residents. It’s called the California statutory will and it lives in California Probate Code Section 6240.
What Is a Statutory Form?
A statutory form is a form created by a government, usually designed to serve as a model form or a free form for the public. The text of the form resides within the government's statutes.
Who Pays for Funeral Costs?
You can make a plan and set aside money for your funeral. If you don't make a plan, then your survivors will be responsible for planning and covering the costs of your funeral arrangements.
How to Leave Property to a Special Needs Trust
If you create a special needs trust for a loved one, you will probably fund the trust substantially after your death.