Paralegal Zye Acuna discovered her passion for justice at a young age. Somewhere between eight years playing flute in the school band and two years on the drumline in her hometown of Chino Hills, Zye connected with an innate sense of fairness and a deep respect for doing the right thing. A career in the legal field seemed a natural fit for her. With a degree in political science and […]
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Creating a living trust is one of the most effective ways to set up the smooth transfer of assets from one generation to another, avoid the time and cost of the probate administration process, and eliminate or reduce certain tax burdens. Setting up a living trust, however, doesn’t avoid the process of trust administration. But what exactly is trust administration? Broadly speaking, it’s the process by which the assets of a trust […]
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Many of my clients have accumulated substantial assets in an IRA. It is commonly, along with their real estate holdings, one of the largest assets they have in their estate. There are, however, certain issues that arise when the owner of the IRA passes away. Most notably, the assets in an IRA do not pass through a living trust. They pass to the beneficiaries pursuant to the terms of the […]
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As a property owner or investor, you know the drill: the tax assessor establishes the value of any property you own at the time of purchase and you are responsible for the taxes based on that assessment. Your property tax rate may go up annually – but not by more than 2% a year thanks to Proposition 13. But what happens when you pass your property on as part of […]
Read MoreOn the campaign trail, President Trump promised to repeal the estate tax aka death tax. That plan failed. But the new tax law, effective since the beginning of the year, significantly reduces the number of estates that will need to pay the tax. It doubles the exemption limit for the estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes set for 2017. Portability remains in effect, as does the marginal estate tax rate of 40 […]
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The recent case of Mahan v. Charles W. Chan Insurance Agency, Inc. highlights the intricacies and reach of California’s elder abuse law. The facts of Mahan are representative of many financial elder abuse cases. As part of their estate plan, Fred and Martha Mahan in the 1990s created a revocable trust, the “Children’s Trust,” to hold their life insurance policies, with their daughter Maureen as trustee. The Mahans funded the […]
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Gift and estate tax issues can be especially complex in the case of an individual whose domicile or property spans multiple countries. Each country has its own gift and estate tax laws, and when a decedent resides in one country while owning property in another, the estate may be subject to both higher and duplicative taxes. A huge potential variable is the existence of an estate and gift tax treaty […]
Read MoreOne year after Prince’s death on April 21, 2016, the fate of his estate remains up in the air, and according to a recent article in the New York Times, the six likely heirs to the pop icon’s vast fortune are fighting. At issue are legal fees and the question how much discretion the estate’s administrator should have in managing the estate. But the disputes — as well as a […]
Read MoreFriends and clients have lately been asking me: Will President Donald J. Trump repeal the federal estate tax like he promised on the campaign trail? What happens if he does? How will any possible change affect individuals like me? Your questions may sound similar, and you should hear what I’ve been telling people. First, the details of Trump’s plan are still murky. Second, it is politically uncertain whether Congress would […]
Read MoreWhen somebody dies with an estate plan and a last will in place, the deceased person’s assets usually pass to the heirs smoothly and swiftly. But every once in a while things go awry, and the courts get involved. So it happened with a case that the 2nd District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles filed in November, Estate of Dayan. The case hinged on a no-contest clause in the […]
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IRS Proposed Rules Will Substantially Increase Estate and Gift Taxes On August 2, 2016 the IRS announced proposed rule changes that may have important consequences for assets that are owned by families. If the rules are finalized in their current proposed form, they will likely go into effect in December 2016. As is explained in more detail below, it is imperative that families that are contemplating transferring assets to family […]
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On August 2, 2016 the IRS announced proposed rule changes that may have important consequences for assets that are owned by families. If the rules are finalized in their current proposed form, they will likely go into effect in December 2016. As is explained in more detail below, it is imperative that families that are contemplating transferring assets to family members act now to lock in the current more favorable […]
Read MoreWe’ve all seen families fall apart. Siblings stop talking with each other. A son or a daughter cuts a parent out of his or her life. Obviously, the reasons for such breakups vary. But in my experience the number one divider is money. The best way I know to prevent family feuds over assets is to create an estate plan that works, and to avoid potential pitfalls in the process. Here’s […]
Read MoreEstate and tax planning — it’s a subject many people like to avoid. That’s often because they think that estate planning is about two topics they’d rather not focus on: death and taxes. For some people, estate and tax planning is about something even more ominous: death, taxes and math. There is, however, another way to look at estate and tax planning. Beyond the details it’s about doing something that to […]
Read MoreTrusts, as we have known them for centuries, are made up of four parts: the settlor, the trust (i.e. the assets,) the trustee and the beneficiaries. But more recently a fifth element has come into play, a trust protector or trust advisor who has the power to direct a trustee to do or not do something. The Role of a California Trust Protector The role of trust protector originated with […]
Read MoreIf you were wronged in a business transaction, let’s say by a supplier of goods or a provider of services, litigation can be a wonderful tool. You hire a lawyer who takes your claim to court, and ideally you end up with a judgement that leaves you feeling vindicated. After the case, you get on with your life, henceforth avoiding any business dealings with the party you sued. When it […]
Read MoreIf you own any form of assets, you’ve probably heard that you should avoid probate by putting your property in a trust. In cases where the value of an estate exceeds $150,000 — for smaller estates probate isn’t mandated — that is indeed sound advice, especially in California, where probate can be a lengthy and expensive process. But when it comes to trusts, I have often noticed that people expect […]
Read MoreAre double damages under Probate Code Section 859 tantamount to punitive damages? No, not according to an opinion that the Alameda Court of Appeals recently published. Why does it matter? Because the ruling and the legal strategies leading up to the decision hold valuable lessons for almost anyone who has anything to inherit. The case in question, Hill v. Superior Court, shows not only how probate litigation can lead to […]
Read MoreI’m curious: Did you create your estate plan before 2011? Does it include a bypass trust, aka family, credit shelter or B trust? If so, then you should be aware that changes in estate taxes may affect you and that you and your attorney should take a fresh look at your estate plan. This is especially important if your net worth is less than $6 million. A bypass trust, which […]
Read MoreThe IRS recently announced the estate and gift tax exemption for 2016; it has been set at $5.45 million for individuals and $10.9 million for couples. (The estate tax exemptions for the current tax year are $5.43 million and $10.86 million respectively. The slight rise reflects the very low inflation rate for 2015.) With a limit of $14,000 per gift, the annual gift tax exclusion will remain the same. So should […]
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