Estate planning is a process to set up legally effective arrangements that will meet your specific wishes if something happens to you or those you care about. Good estate planning is more than just a simple will. Estate planning also typically minimizes potential taxes and fees, and sets up contingency planning to make sure your wishes regarding health care treatment are followed.

Since my wife and I opened the Firm in 1980, I have been providing superior legal services to residents in Berkeley and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. This small, specialized firm is receptive to your individual planning needs with its experienced, dedicated staff and years of practice in the field. For many procedures we charge flat fees -- quoted in advance -- so you can plan better for your future.

As a Berkeley Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, I concentrate my practice in the following areas:

• Tax planning and working with the IRS or California tax authorities
• Audit and collection problems (including offers in compromise)
• Estate planning (wills and trusts, and related documents)
• Family Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
• Probate (the process of taking an estate through the court system)
• Tax aspects of divorce, e.g., Qualified Domestic Relations Orders
• Asset Protection Planning

On the financial side, a good estate plan coordinates what would happen with your home, your investments, your business, your life insurance, your employee benefits (such as a 401K plan), and other property in the event you became disabled or if you die. On the personal side, a good estate plan includes directions to carry out your wishes regarding health care matters, so that if you ever are unable to give the directions yourself, someone you select would do that for you.

As a Tax Lawyer in addition to a Berkeley Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, I can provide tax planning or help after the fact. For instance, many clients need help with audits; others have collection problems which might be solved by submitting an Offer in Compromise. I also help those with tax work in going through divorce, and in preparing Qualified Domestic Relations Orders (QDROs). For any matter, I welcome your questions, and I keep you informed every step along the way.

If you or someone you know in the San Francisco Bay Area needs the assistance of a Berkeley Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, call Robert Anderson today at 866-633-5095, or use the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

Probate:
Probate is the legal process of transferring property following a person's death. Although probate customs and laws have changed over time, the purpose has remained much the same: an individual formalizes their intentions as to the transfer of their property at the time of their death (typically through a will), their property is collected, certain debts are paid from the estate and the property is distributed accordingly.

Wills:
A will is a written instrument containing directions on how the assets and property of the testator (individual creating the will) shall be divided upon his or her death. Wills can also contain instructions regarding the care of minor children, gifts to charity, and formation of posthumous trusts. In order for a will to be legally valid, the testator must sign the will in the presence of two witnesses, and he or she must be mentally competent and not acting under duress or under the controlling influence of another.

Will Contest Litigation:
A will contest is a type of litigation that challenges the admission of a will to probate. Issues that are likely to spur the contesting of a will include:

• The testator lacked mental capacity; i.e., was senile, delusional, or of unsound mind at the time the documents were created
• The testator was subjected to fraud, coercion or undue influence during its creation and implementation
• There are ambiguities in the document
• The will is a forgery or does not conform to legal requirements as to the number and nature of the witnesses
• If the will is thrown out, the court may disallow only the part of the will that was challenged or throw out the entire will of the decedent, distributing the property as if the person died without a will, or use the last previous will, depending on state law and the specific facts and circumstances.

Trusts:
Trusts are estate-planning tools that can replace or supplement wills, as well as help manage property during life. A trust manages the distribution of a person's property by transferring its benefits and obligations to different people. By maintaining assets in a trust, it is often easier to minimize taxes and leave a larger inheritance. A trust is also a way to provide a steady income to the beneficiary over the course of time, rather than distribution in a lump sum. This strategy can reduce the beneficiary's tax and allow the trust to grow through investment, and keep assets free from creditors of the trust beneficiary. Trusts can also be established for the benefit of charitable organizations.

Probating Estates:
Estates are categorized as probate or non-probate property. Probate property is property that is transferred by the provisions of a will. Non-probate property is property that is either jointly held and passes by right of survivorship, is directed by beneficiary designation such as an IRA or a life insurance policy, or passes according to the terms of a trust.

Estate Planning:
Good estate planning is more than just a simple will.  Estate planning minimizes potential taxes and fees, such as the transferring of assets at the lowest possible Federal and state gift and estate tax, and sets up contingency planning to make sure wishes regarding health care treatment are followed before and after death. A good estate plan also coordinates what happens to a home, investments, business, life insurance, employee benefits (such as a 401K plan) and other property in the event of disablement or death.

Estate tax and other estate-related issues are hot legislative items, with new laws being passed on a regular basis. A competent and experienced estate planning lawyer is critical in assuring that your unique estate planning goals are understood and carried out.

Powers of Attorney:
Powers of attorney are governed by the law of agency, a branch of common law concerned with the delegation of power from one person (the principal), to another (attorney-in-fact or agent).

When a person becomes incapacitated, the government or the court often steps in and appoints someone to represent and make legal decisions that the person would have to make. One of the ways to avoid government or court intervention and the appointment of a stranger to act as your guardian is to use a power of attorney. A power of attorney is a written document stating that one person gives to another the full power and authority to represent him or her or it can be limited in scope. There are two types of power of attorneys: one covering assets and one covering health care decisions.

If you or someone you know in the San Francisco Bay Area, needs the assistance of a Berkeley Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, call Robert Anderson today at 866-633-5095, or use the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

Professional Profiles

My Firm is committed to providing exceptional customer service to clients seeking legal counsel related to estate planning, tax planning, and probate. I work hard to protect and advance each of my estate planning client’s interests and rights in an efficient and professional manner. I provide superior quality legal services at reasonable prices, including flat fees.

If you or someone you know in the San Francisco Bay Area, needs the assistance of a Berkeley Estate Planning and Probate Attorney, call Robert Anderson today at 866-633-5095, or use the contact form provided on this site to schedule your initial consultation.

FIRM ADDRESS:
Anderson & Drossel
2041 Bancroft Way Suite 207
Berkeley, CA 94704
Phone: 866-633-5095

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Robert P. Anderson, Attorney

EDUCATION:
BS in chemical engineering, Cal, 1967
JD, San Francisco Law School, 1979 
LLM in tax, Golden Gate Law School, 1986

COURTS ADMITTED:
State of California

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
California State Bar, American Bar Association, Alameda County Bar Association, and the Berkeley-Albany Bar Association (Past President). Officer and director of numerous bar, tax, and other associations.  Publishes various articles and is a frequent speaker on tax and estate planning matters in Alameda County.


Elizabeth C. Rubin, Legal Secretary and Notary Public
Elizabeth joined Anderson & Drossel in December 1982 as a legal secretary.  In addition, she manages many of the day-to-day functions in the office, and is a Notary Public.