Have you realized how much of your valuable personal information is online, pictures especially? We have ancestor history, banking accounts and details, travel logs, blog posts, and photos all available digitally. All of that digital information needs protection and if you don’t take action you might lose that information because your loved ones cannot access it. If you don’t securely save and share your passwords, when you pass away your […]
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Last week Kevin J. Moore attended the NYU 78th Institute on Federal Taxation in San Francisco. This conference covered the most advanced tax issues, offering participants a clear understanding of the key issues affecting their clients or business and presenting planning ideas that can immediately be used in practice. The Institute also provided the perfect setting to meet practitioners from all around the country. The range of attendees included: attorneys, […]
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Kevin J. Moore was named 2019 Top Attorney in Pasadena Magazine. The Pasadena Magazine 2019 Top Attorney’s List is based on an online peer review survey sent out to practicing attorneys in the Pasadena area. To be recognized by peers as the leading estate planning attorney in Pasadena is a tremendous honor. Pick up a copy of the March 2019 issue today!
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Last week Kevin Moore attended the Step Orange County Conference on tax updates, estate planning, and the world economy. This 2-day event covered the most important domestic and international estate and tax planning opportunities for attorneys, accountants, wealth managers, financial advisors, and life insurance agents, as well as provided insights for corporate trustees, private fiduciaries, and charitable planning consultants. A number of excellent presentations were given on asset protection trusts […]
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The USC Gould School of Law 2019 Tax Institute is essential for tax professionals and Kevin J. Moore was in attendance at the three-day event. Held at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel, over 70 national industry leaders spoke on a range of important topics including updates on the latest corporate taxation, real estate taxation, and estate planning developments. Kevin networked with peers and other tax professionals while earning MCLE credit.
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Estate 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 […]
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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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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 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 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 MoreDid you know that estate planning is more important for women than for men? Why? Women have a higher life expectancy than men, and those who marry tend to pick partners older than themselves. They are therefore not only more likely to become incapacitated as they age, but also more likely to be widowed. And in most cases, they will have the final say when it comes to the distribution […]
Read MoreAs an attorney, I sometimes receive inquiries from potential clients who want to challenge the will of a recently deceased person. I invariably end up disappointing these people when I tell them that a will contest is not only expensive but also very hard to win. Why? To begin with, only a handful of people in any given case have the legal standing to file a will contest. Moreover, the […]
Read MoreWhen we think of legacies and inheritances, we often associate the term fairness. But fairness means different things to different people. One person will say that distributing assets to inheritors fairly is equivalent to each one receiving the same share. Another person will argue that treating people fairly means paying attention to an individual’s needs and accordingly adjusting distributions. Let’s look at a hypothetical scenario: Heather and Juan have three […]
Read MoreWhat will happen with your car when you die? Will it sit in some driveway for months, collecting dust and losing value while your estate goes through California probate? Not if you’re proactive, at least in California. As one of about a dozen legislatures countrywide, the Golden State allows residents to add a transfer on death (TOD) beneficiary to a vehicle’s title. After your death, this person will automatically own […]
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