Probate, Trust Administration, & Estate Planning Services

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Our Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate practice is the foundation of our firm’s services and is our primary area of specialty. Anyone who has kids, owns a home or investment property, has started or operates their own business, is getting ready to retire or looking to pass on or sell their business, should have an Estate Plan in place to protect what they have worked so hard to acquire. A comprehensive Estate Plan will minimize or eliminate estate taxes, facilitate the passing of assets, and allow for the management of assets in the event of incompetency or other disability.

At KJMLAW Partners, we take care to listen to our clients’ thoughts on mortality, disability, incompetence, and protection for their family. Accordingly, we provide a range of services from the most basic to the most sophisticated to deal with these sensitive issues.

Estate Planning and Trusts

All Estate Plans have as their foundation the following documents in place:

  • Living Trusts
  • Pour Over Wills
  • Durable Powers of Attorney for Property Management
  • Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care
  • Living Wills (Medical Directives)
  • HIPAA and CMIA Waivers

More sophisticated Estate Plans will generally utilize specialized entities and trusts to provide for asset protection, and estate and gift tax reduction and/or elimination. Such entities and trusts may include:

  • Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
  • Irrevocable Gifting and Life Insurance Trusts
  • Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
  • Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Income Trusts and Unitrusts
  • Grantor Trusts and Related Transactions

Whether you are a wealthy client with significant assets or a retiree looking to protect what you have, KJMLAW Partners has the experience, background and trust that our clients seek in keeping their financial assets secure.

Charitable Planning

KJMLAW Partners helps to form private foundations for wealthy families so they are able to make donations to their causes of choice and carry out their charitable benevolence.

With one or more charitable entities or trusts in place, our clients are able to donate highly-appreciated assets, sell those assets on a tax free basis, then use the proceeds to fund their lifestyle. At the time of their passing, the remainder of those funds will then go to the charity of their choice.

Through such Charitable Planning, KJMLAW Partners has enabled its philanthropic clients to financially support several local schools and universities in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Trust Administration

Setting up a living trust does not avoid the process of trust administration. Trust Administration is the process by which the assets of a trust are distributed to beneficiaries after the death of the trust creator. There are a number of legal requirements for overseeing trusts and many people are often surprised at how complex the process can be.

KJMLAW Partners professionally administer trusts, guide trustees and other vested parties through legal issues that may arise during the trust administration process and provide counsel on asset ownership and title issues, tax issues, asset valuation and more. We offer help with any conflict that may arise throughout the trust administration process.

For nearly 25 years, KJMLAW Partners has helped protect trustees and executors from frivolous attacks by beneficiaries. In certain high-profile trust cases, we have utilized “blind trusts” to ensure that our clients’ ownership records remain private.

Gift and Estate Tax Planning

KJMLAW Partners represents its clients by filing their Gift and Estate Tax Returns and performing all the necessary work that goes into administering trusts, identifying and valuing assets, and issuing notices to all the proper parties, as required by law.

This includes:

  •  Gift Tax Returns
  •  Estate Tax Returns
  •  Trust and Estate Administration