Lifetime Benefits of Estate Planning
When people evaluate how much an estate plan is going to benefit them, they typically focus on the common benefits of a common cookie-cutter plan, i.e., avoiding probate, avoiding death tax, reducing settlement costs. These are in fact hard and substantial...Family Protection Clinic
This short video illustrates some of the handgun drills we practice in our Family Protection Clinic, where in addition to firearm training you get a recap of California gun law and learn of recent developments in estate planning. Learn about real family protection and...Will Contests: Undue Influence
Related to lack of capacity is another basis for challenging a will—that of undue influence. Undue influence occurs where a testator has the required testamentary capacity, yet that capacity is subject to the control of someone else who seeks to manipulate the...Will Contests: Lack of Capacity to Make a Will
Not everyone can make a will. To make a will, you must have “testamentary capacity.” The requirements vary by state, but generally you must be 18 years of age and be of “sound mind.” Lack of capacity when executing a will can lead to the will being challenged in a...Will a Gun Trust Protect My Guns if SB374 Becomes Law?
This content is for members onlyWhy Every Gun Owner Needs a Gun Trust
[UPDATE: Another reason to have a gun trust: This memo warns that gun owners using a common revocable joint living trust may be at even more risk of incurring criminal liability.] Although gun trusts are now a popular means of obtaining Title II weapons...What does Property Mean?
Estate planning attorneys must ask clients about property they own. This important information is gathered in questionnaires and during interviews. “Property” is one of those terms that is often confusing because many people use the term colloquially in a sense which...What Documents Constitute an Estate Plan?
The documents constituting an estate plan should be selected according to the circumstances and particular goals of a particular plan, but there are certain documents which commonly appear in most plans. BASIC ESTATE PLANNING For example, in a basic foundational...WealthCounsel Member
WealthCounsel, LLC, is the country’s premier community of estate planning attorneys. Over 2500 attorneys at over one thousand law firms across the country are members of WealthCounsel. As a group, WealthCounsel attorneys are considered to be thought leaders in the...Trusts Implied by Court
The Probate Code defines trusts as either express trusts, or trusts implied through court action. Implied trusts are of two kinds: resulting trusts and constructive trusts. Resulting Trusts A resulting trust is imposed by law where circumstances show that the...Trust Parties, Rights, Responsibilities & Duties
Trust parties include: Trustor/Settlor/Grantor There are several different terms used for the person who creates a trust. “Grantor” is the term used under the Internal Revenue Code. “Trustor” was used in California prior to the current Trust Law taking effect in...Trust Funding Basics
This content is for members onlyTrust Creation in California
Elements of trust creation in California: Trust Elements There are four elements required for creation of a valid express trust: 1. Intention to Create a Trust The settlor’s intention to hold trust property for the benefit of another must be manifested unequivocally,...Trust Administration
Probate administration, or administration of an estate, begins after death. There is no administration required of a will during life, however even with a will-based estate plan it is a good idea to review the plan on a regular basis to make sure it is up to date and...The Team Approach to Estate Planning
The team approach to estate planning is the only approach to an effective plan. Particularly in the design phase, but also with implementation, estate planning is best done as a team effort of individuals from several disciplines. The core team consists of an estate...Revocable Trusts in California
In order to be revocable by the settlor, a revocable trust must obviously be an inter vivos trust (or “living trust”). The Revocable Living Trust (or “RLT”) is a popular estate planning device because of many advantages it has over a will-based plan. The two main...Reverse Mortgages and Irrevocable Trusts
This content is for members onlyResponsibilities When a Loved One Leaves the Range
Estate settlement responsibilities can get complicated and tend to arrive precisely at the time when we are least able to handle them, emotionally and perhaps physically. Here is a general discussion of some of the issues involved for a simple estate, but keep in...No Contest Clauses
Do you plan to make UNEQUAL distributions to your kids? Are you worried that one or more of your children may challenge your estate plan or any particular transfer or change in beneficiary you have made, or a particular loan arrangement you have made with a child who...New Gun Trust Reg: Obama Nation to Spy on Family Planning
An excerpt of the following article was posted in opposition to ATF’s Proposed Rule 41P. (Originally published 9/2/2013) Seems I am always working on Labor Day. This year, it’s reviewing the latest nonsense to arise by Executive Order in the Obama Nation. Last...Landmark Supreme Court Case: Retirement Trust Necessary for Asset Protection
Asset protection is an important benefit an estate plan can provide for your family, but oftentimes there is no such planning with respect to retirement assets. This is why I have long encouraged clients to consider a separate “Standalone Retirement...IRS Approves Another NING Trust
Want to escape high state income taxes? On March 7 the IRS in PLR 201410010 approved another NING trust (Nevada Incomplete-gift Non-Grantor Trust), which is incomplete for transfer tax purposes while remaining a non-grantor trust for income tax purposes. This trust,...Irrevocable Trusts in California
An irrevocable inter vivos trust (IRT) is a trust created during the settlor’s lifetime, over which settlor retains no power to alter, amend or revoke. Although RLT’s typically become irrevocable on the settlor’s death, they are not called irrevocable trusts. Trusts...Incentive Trusts
If you have either life insurance or accumulated wealth, you may want to create a safety net for your children. Planning is critical if your children are young, in case something happens to you before they are ready to face life on their own without the benefit of...Incentive Trust Basics
Incentive trusts are designed with the purpose of influencing behavior of the beneficiaries. The type and scope of these provisions is limited only by the imagination of the drafter, and a few more practical limits such as the assets required for implementation...How to Set Up a California Pet Trust with Teeth
Many pet owners are concerned about how their pets will be cared for after the owner dies or becomes incapacitated. Existing estate plans can be easily modified to at least partially address this problem. A client’s durable power of attorney and/or revocable living...Gun Trust Basics
Why EVERY gun owner should have a gun trust; avoiding accidental felonies; carrying on a legacy of firearm training, etc. Gun trusts can also be drafted with incentive provisions for carrying on the firearm legacy. Gun trusts are purpose-built to hold guns. The...GUN TRUST ATTORNEYS ISSUE WARNING
[UPDATE: For the last three years (since August 2016) I have not generally recommended the lifetime funding of gun trusts in California. Passage of AB 1292 in July 2019 has significantly enabled and clarified use of gun trusts — however, there are limits under the new...Gift Tax and Exclusions
Gift Tax Without the gift tax, families could avoid estate tax by making lifetime transfers to children, and gifts to children in a lower income tax bracket could reduce income tax as well. To the extent gift tax applies, these goals are frustrated. The gift tax is...Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax
Much as the gift tax is designed to frustrate avoidance of estate tax, the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax is designed to deal with transferors who may attempt to avoid both estate and gift tax at successive generations by making transfers to recipients two or...Express Trusts
An express trust is declared in express terms and arises from voluntary action of the parties, usually in the form of a trust instrument that defines the duties of the trustee and the rights of the beneficiary. When we are discussing trusts, usually we are talking...Estate Tax Update
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) was passed on January 1, 2013, and was signed into law on January 2, 2013. The changes are often referred to as “permanent” because there are no sunset provisions. However, the Obama Administration has already proposed...Estate Planning and Basis Step Up
A primer on basis step up and estate planning: When you sell an item of property, you generally pay tax on the capital gains. This tax is applied to the excess of the sale price over your tax basis in the property. Your basis is generally the purchase price, perhaps...Disclaimer Trusts and the Clayton Alternative
DISCLAIMER TRUST The disclaimer trust is a common form of planning, used as an alternative to funding a bypass trust with a marital deduction formula in order to utilize a decedent’s applicable exclusion amount. (Use of a formula generally makes sense only if...CRUMMEY POWERS AND THE IRS
Annual exclusion gifts are often used to provide seed money for an estate freeze technique, or for payment of premium on a trust-owned life insurance policy, or to transfer fractional ownership in an asset (such as a limited partnership) in order to obtain valuation...CHOOSING TRUST SITUS
Put simply, trust situs is where a trust is located. However, a trust can hold assets in many states so situs does not simply mean where trust assets are located—although place of administration of personal property can be a factor considered by courts. (Real property...Business Planning
Set up your business with tax planning, estate planning, asset protection, and family protection in mind. In this economy, you need every competitive advantage, and your competitors are not standing still when it comes to tax planning. Estate planning and business...An Exit Strategy for your Business
Your business is most likely a major asset and source of income to you and your family. However, it is probably not properly protected from life events of the co-owners, due to lack of an exit strategy. Most business owners would be shocked to discover what happens to...An Estate Plan Requires Estate Goals
The term “estate plan” has been commoditized and cheapened to the point of referring merely to a set of documents designed very generally to avoid probate and perhaps minimize estate tax. For this we can blame high-volume trust mills operated by non-lawyers, usually...
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