California Gun Trust Planning
Presentation by Attorney Dave Duringer clears up confusion over California Gun Trust Planning. What is a Gun Trust? Is a Gun Trust Effective? Is a Gun Trust Necessary? Is a Gun Trust Recommended? YES! Every California gun owner should have one! A regular trust might...Critique of “California Gun Laws” (2023 edition)
Last year I wrote this scathing review of Michel & Cubeiro’s 2022 edition of their popular book “California Gun Laws”. Actually, my harsh criticism was limited to the portions touching on estate planning. As far as I knew, the rest of the book...Died Suddenly #DiedSuddenly
[Hi it’s me Dave Duringer — no, I didn’t “die suddenly” (a concerned relative thought I did because this post came up on google in a way that gave that impression). No one in my family took the clot shot, although a distant cousin of mine...California Just Made This Picture of My Daughter Illegal (AB 2571)
California just enacted AB 2571 to restrict the ability of gun owners to transmit gun culture to their kids. This blatantly unconstitutional act bans advertising that may attract minors to firearms and the penalties for violation are huge, up to $25,000 per...Supreme Court Sends Back Gun Cases that Upheld Bans on Open Carry, Magazines, Assault Weapons
The Supreme Court today (order list) issued “GVR’s” — granted certiorari, vacated judgment, and remanded to lower courts for reconsideration in light of NYSRPA v Bruen — in four cases that had upheld bans on open carry, magazines, and...California AG Ditches Good Cause, Pitches Moral Character for CCW Denial (What is Bonta Smoking?)
Last Friday, one day after the Supreme Court’s landmark NYSRPA v Bruen decision (analyzed fully here), California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta rushed out a bizarre letter offering inept guidance to various state officials involved in issuing concealed...NYSRPA v Bruen Exceeds Expectations
Now that I’ve read the full majority opinion and concurrences, I have a few comments and predictions to make regarding NYSRPA v Bruen (I’ve omitted citations, so please just go to the actual opinion and use CTRL-F if you need to find something). I ignored...Supreme Court Strikes Down Restriction on Right to Bear Arms in Public – NYSRPA v Bruen 6-3 Decision for 2A!
In a blockbuster decision released minutes ago, the Supreme Court of the United States has held with a solid 6-3 majority in the case of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, that New York’s statutory restriction against bearing arms...This Month SCOTUS Will Recognize Your Right to Bear Arms – Are You Ready?
This month, June of 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of NYSRPA v Bruen, will hold that you have a fundamental individual right to carry a firearm for self-defense outside of your home, in public. Not that you don’t already have that...Why You Should Consider Putting Your LLC into a Trust
The limited liability company (LLC) is a popular business structure that offers liability protection and avoidance of double taxation. Trusts are popular asset transfer vehicles that allow you to avoid probate and keep assets out of the hands of creditors. By placing...Use a Grant Deed to Fund Your Trust (NOT a Quitclaim)
Even simple estate plans can fail if the revocable trust is not properly funded, especially with all real estate owned by decedent. If the decedent’s real estate is not properly transferred to trust, then unless there are other viable options (like an expensive...Critique of “California Gun Laws” (2022 edition)
This critique of the 2022 (9th) edition of “California Gun Laws” by C.D. “Chuck” Michel and Matthew D. Cubeiro is not a critique of the entire book, but only a small portion consisting of two sections, Section 3 (“Operation of Law”...Firearm Training is Main Gun Trust Benefit
Check out our radio ad! Click here: Script: Ronald Reagan warned us: “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.” Your family can beat the odds with a F.I.R.S.T. Family Trust. Developed by Central Coast attorney Dave Duringer, the Firearm...Recoil Magazine Cut Out the Main Point of My Article!
The well-respected Recoil Magazine published an article of mine in their latest issue, which went on sale last week. Whoopee! Except they cut out my main point (!) and since i wrote the entire article submission to support that point, it reads like a jumbled...Mortgage Lenders Stop Funding Loans in Trust
UPDATE: After a week of turmoil, looks like the mortgage bond market has stabilized a bit and mortgage loans on properties held in trusts are again saleable in the secondary market. Sanity has returned for now, at least while the market is taking whatever...PENA V. DEY – a warning to avoid handwritten trust amendments
Our clients are warned not to make handwritten changes to the trust instrument, and the recent case of Pena v Dey illustrates why: Summary: Where the trust expressly required that amendments be made by a signed writing, handwritten interlineations on a trust...Gun Trusts are Back!
Enactment of AB 1292 has made estate planning much easier for California gun owners. Read our in-depth article here before access is restricted to members...Return of the Gun Trust: AB 1292 Eases Estate Planning for California Gun Owners
When Governor Newsom approved AB 1292 on July 12, he made estate planning easier for California gun owners. Why would Sacramento Democrats make death easier for us? I can only speculate, but I’m guessing it’s because the confusing state of the law put non-gun...Share Your Cryptocurrency Passwords
For years, cryptocurrency owners have focused on coin security. Many of our clients protect their coins and accounts from online hackers through offline storage and complex passwords that are memorized but never written down. A recent Canadian bankruptcy filing...Insolvent Estates of Wealthy Decedents
Insolvent estates happen and are full of minefields for all involved: Begin With a Plan When faced with such an estate, the advisor should meet with the executor and together they should set out a plan for success. The plan should include a beginning inventory...Rev Proc 2017-34 simplifies getting extension for portability election
Rev. Proc. 2017-34 SECTION 1. PURPOSE This revenue procedure provides a simplified method for certain taxpayers to obtain an extension of time under § 301.9100-3 of the Procedure and Administration Regulations to make a “portability” election under §...Yes, a Firearm Safety Certificate is required for trustees and agents!
I am often asked by professional fiduciaries whether they need to have a Firearm Safety Certificate (FSC) for the work they do. Professional fiduciaries are subject to the same penal code as lay fiduciaries so the answer is yes, generally, fiduciaries (whether...Does a Thicke Living Trust Work Better? We Shall Soon See
The trusts I draft are usually pretty thick, thicker than clients expect. But no matter how thick the trust, the plan can fail if spouses are not in agreement on the underlying character of the property (separate or community). This might have been the case with the...Beware The Constructive Trust When Relying On ‘Informal’ Estate Distributions
In Georgia, generally, a constructive trust cannot be imposed on real property based solely on a broken verbal promise to hold or transfer the land for the benefit of another. However, a broken verbal promise may give rise to a constructive trust if it was...A Case for Tennessee PFTCs
Tennessee recently updated its private family trust company (PFTC) laws in 2016 to expand both the family clients and family office employees that they can serve. These changes can help ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) families and family offices meet their needs....Residual liability in the trust context of excluded fiduciaries
Some states by statute have introduced into their trust jurisprudence the concept of the excluded fiduciary: In the case of a trust the terms of which allocate fiduciary functions between the trustee and, say, a trust protector, the trustee is an excluded...Conflicted Art Appraisals Lead to $1.77 Million Estate Tax Deficiency
Recently, in Estate of Kollsman v. Commissioner (T.C. Memo. 2017-40), the U.S. Tax Court held that an art collector’s estate significantly underreported the value of two artworks for estate tax purposes. The problem: the estate relied on appraisals by an...Rules of Succession in Dubai
Even though the Personal Status law of the UAE provides that foreigners may request the court for the application of their home country law, this law did not expressly amend the Civil Code of the country. This gave rise to the uncertainty of whether or not a...Court Orders Administrator To Elect Portability
The first is the preemption argument. The administrator argued that the discretion granted to him to elect portability under the terms of 26 U.S.C.A. 2010 trumped Oklahoma law concerning the fiduciary obligations owed by estate administrators to potential...How to Explain the Value of a Trust Protector to Your Clients
As an attorney, you understand the value of a trust protector for an irrevocable trust. While “set in stone,” the trust still needs someone to watch over it and ensure it can adapt to changes in the law and/or resolve differences between trustees and...Antemortem Probate? RIDICULOUS! “Living Trust” is better, more probative, etc.
Wow, what a ridiculous idea — ante-mortem probate! I have two simpler words that offer a better solution: “LIVING TRUST” What better way to gauge a testator’s true intent than a trust arrangement the testator lives with day in and day out,...50% of Americans believe a will avoids probate court
According to WealthCounsel’s recent inaugural Estate Planning Awareness Survey: Despite this direct knowledge of what can happen, 50% of respondents with a will believe that wills protect them from probate court after they pass away, and more than two-thirds (70%)...Basis Consistency and Reporting for Property Acquired from a Decedent
Significant coverage was devoted at the recently concluded 51st Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in Orlando, Fla. to the Internal Revenue Service’s proposed regulations (proposed regs) concerning basis consistency and reporting for property...The Biggest Lie in Life Insurance
Valid point, especially now that the estate tax beast so rarely bites and may soon be destroyed. The article points out a few reasons for having life insurance, but omits some important ones such as estate creation for young families. Thus, the biggest lie in...Tailoring the Trust Protector’s Role
The Bespoke Trust Protector – Tailoring the Protector's Role from Matthew McClintock WealthCounsel VP Matt McClintock has been at the forefront in this cutting edge planning area — adapting the age-old concept of trust protector, commonly used in...Could you be David Bowie’s lovechild? Deadline looms to claim share
According to the article, Bowie admitted to being “incredibly promiscuous” — yikes, bad planning or no planning here to avoid pretermitted child claims. Anyone who believes they are David Bowie’s secret love child should make their case...Who’s Charging What for Trust Services?
A survey of fees charged by some major trust companies. Fees and minimums vary quite a bit. Trust fees are headed higher according to our pricing survey completed this week. Some firms work strictly from a rate card. Others decide what your client will pay when...Executors Personally Liable for Tax Liabilities of Estate Under Federal Priority Statute, 31 U.S.C. 3713
This is an appeal of summary judgment by the personal representative (the “PR”) of an estate. The lower court found the PR to be personally liable under the federal priority statute, Section 3713, for tax liabilities due from an insolvent estate. Under the...Account Transcript, Substitute for Estate Tax Closing Letter
With certain exceptions and prior to June 1, 2015, the IRS issued an ETCL for every estate tax return filed. After that date, the IRS changed its policy and only issued such a letter upon formal request by an estate and not sooner than four months after the...Current Political Violence Highlights Importance of Private Trust Planning
By now, hopefully most people are aware that probate avoidance is one of the core benefits of a properly drafted and funded revocable trust, even one done by a trust mill that lacks the sort of comprehensive planning we do. Why is probate bad? Well, one of the...Poor planning means government will take half of Prince’s estate
Prince’s estate has until Saturday to file an estate tax payment for the late rock superstar, and the taxes are expected to ultimately swallow nearly half the estate’s estimated $200 million value, meaning a likely windfall of roughly $100 million for the...Income Sprinkling to Minimize Tax Liability
Income sprinkling is often a good strategy to avoid such high tax rates. In such a scenario, the income accumulated in a trust is distributed before December 31st of the year, and it is counted as income for the beneficiary. Unless the beneficiary is also in...Repeal and Uncertainty Impacts Estate Administration
Good advice in this article, but much of the uncertainty can be removed with thorough, comprehensive planning with an eye toward flexibility. For example, in our planning (http://Protect.LIFE), we offer not only the current flexibility of the Clayton election,...Massive Art Forgery Ring Reinforces Need for Vigilance Among Buyers
Conduct due diligence. Always ask questions and conduct research to find out about the work of art’s history, as well as exhibition and literature citations prior to purchase. Ideally, a buyer should be able to trace the history of the painting all the way back...World’s oldest man Mbah Goto celebrates what he claims to be his 146th birthday
He has outlived all 10 of his siblings as well as his four wives, the last of whom died in 1988. All of his children have also died, and now he is survived by his grandchildren, great grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren. Source: World’s oldest...New Transfer on Death Deed; An Alternative to a Living Trust ?
From a respected WealthCounsel colleague: The Good: The new TOD Deed Will be simple to use; Will be less expensive than creating a Living Trust; Will eliminate the time and expense of a probate; Will remain revocable during the lifetime of the grantor; and, Will...#AssetProtection: New Zealand man latest to claim Prince as father
Estate planning is a cost of doing family. Failing to plan is an act of violence against family. New York (AFP) – A New Zealand man is the latest person to say he is pop icon Prince’s heir after a judge dismissed a series of other claims, court...The Jefferson Election Avoids California #GunControl
[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...#AssetProtection: #EstatePlanning Attorney to Use Time Travel in New Post-Mortem Planning Service
Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to go back and fix an estate plan before death or incapacity of the grantor? Protective Law Corporation will be very pleased to offer such post-mortem estate planning, and we will add it to our pricing sheet just as soon as the...
Free to Advisors
