A well-designed and executed estate plan can preserve assets and minimize or eliminate the burdens placed on surviving family members and loved ones. As skilled Southern California Estate Planning Attorneys, we provide expert estate litigation and estate planning services to clients throughout the state, including Ventura County, Los Angeles County, Burbank, Canoga Park, Glendale and Sherman Oaks.

Our Firm is comprised of lawyers experienced in probate, civil litigation matters and real estate law. Further, our Business Litigation Attorneys assist in probate matters where businesses are involved, which is common. Areas of representation include:

• Preparation of Wills and Trusts
• Consulting for Tax Planning and Estate Planning
• Beneficiary Disputes
• Will Contests
• Living Trust Contests
• Claims Against Trustees
• Real Estate Disputes
• Representation of Trustees

In support of all of the above, our attorneys view matters in light of any litigation or life planning matters. Accordingly, where needed our Civil Litigation Attorneys will review the client case or matter.

Catanese & Wells is a California law firm founded in 1989 to provide innovative and specialized legal representation to our clients. Catanese & Wells was established as a boutique-style firm to provide upscale service to our clients along with the personal care and attention our clients deserve. The Firm is comprised of attorneys with years of experience, some of whom have been in practice for 25 years or longer. The staff of the law firm is made up of legal secretaries, law clerks and paralegals who strive to provide the attorneys with competent support in all client matters.

The mission of Catanese & Wells is to provide superior legal services to our clients in a cost effective manner consistent with our client’s best interests and goals. As experienced Southern California Estate Planning Attorneys, we are meticulous draftspersons of customized trusts, wills and other documents tailored to meet our clients' unique legal needs. Our Firm uses problem-solving techniques tailored to the needs of clients to provide them with the most practical result.  Our broad range of experience enables clients to receive their results in the most effective and efficient manner.

Civil Litigation Group
Our Civil Litigation Attorney Group represents individuals and organizations throughout the state of California. The group emphasizes the representation of clients in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The Firm’s civil and securities litigation lawyers handle all matters related to the following fields :

• Commercial Disputes
• Business Disputes
• Partnership Disputes
• Corporate Disputes
• Real Estate Disputes
• Contractor Disputes
• Small Business Litigation
• Securities Disputes/NASD Broker-Dealer Problems
• Employee Contests

The Firm’s civil litigation lawyers provide initial consultations with a view of early settlement of a case if that is practicable. If not, the law firm’s litigation staff strives to deliver a superior litigation effort for the client to resolve the case quickly in an effort to avoid a trial, through mediation or arbitration, or if trial is needed through trial to a favorable result to the client.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced Southern California Estate Planning Attorney, call Catanese & Wells today at 866-697-7130, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

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 his or her intentions as to the transfer of his or her property at the time of death (typically through a Will); his or her 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 or
• 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, depending on state law and the specific facts and circumstances may disallow only the part of the Will that was challenged; throw out the entire Will, distributing the property as if the person died without a Will or use the last previous Will.

Trusts:
Trusts are estate-planning tools that can replace or supplement Wills and can also help manage property during life.  A trust manages the distribution of a person's property by transferring its benefits and obligations to different people.  Maintaining assets in a Trust often makes it easier to minimize taxes and leave a larger inheritance.  A Trust is also a way to provide a steady income to the Beneficiary over time (as opposed to distribution in a lump sum), thus reducing the Beneficiary's tax burden, allowing the Trust to grow through investment, and keeping 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.  It minimizes potential taxes and fees (including Federal and State gift and estate taxes), 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 disability or death.

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 for the incapacitated person.  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 that can be limited in scope, or it can allow one person to give another the full power and authority to represent him or her.  There are two types of Power of Attorneys; one covering assets and one covering health care decisions.

Estate Litigation:
Estate litigation is a legal dispute usually initiated by someone who feels they did not receive all they were entitled to in a Will.  Wills can be challenged if it is suspected that the Will is not legally valid or if the person who was writing the Will was wrongly influenced while creating it.

Conservatorship:
A conservatorship is a court order that a person deemed fully or partially incapable be subject to the legal control of another person.  The conservator is responsible for the assets and finances of an incapacitated person.  Many jurisdictions use the term "guardian of the person" to refer to the same legal principle.  It may be necessary to petition a court to appoint a conservator for persons:

• Who have physical or mental problems that prevent them from managing their own financial affairs;
• Who have no person already legally authorized to assume responsibility for them; and
• Where other kinds of assistance with financial management will not adequately protect them. 

Guardianship:
A guardianship is a legal relationship created by a court between a guardian and his ward, either a minor child or an incapacitated adult.  The guardian has a legal right and duty to care for the ward.  This may involve making personal decisions on his or her behalf, managing property or both.  Usually, a person has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to infancy, incapacity or disability.

Courts generally have the power to appoint a guardian for an individual in need of special protection.  There are different types of guardians that can be appointed.  A guardian with responsibility for both the personal well-being and the financial interests of the ward is a general guardian.  A person may also be appointed as a special guardian, having limited powers over the interests of the ward.  A guardian appointed to represent the interests of a person with respect to a single action in litigation is a guardian ad litem.

Estate Tax Returns:
The money and property you own when you die (your estate) may be subject to federal estate tax.  Most estates are not subject to the tax.  Only about 2% of all estates are subject to the estate tax.  An estate tax return generally will not be needed unless the estate is worth more than the applicable exclusion amount for the year of death.  The estate tax is technically a tax on the transfer of property to others, generally to children of a decedent.

Estate taxes are different from, and in addition to, probate expenses and final income taxes owed on income the decedent earned in the year of his or her death.  They also are separate from inheritance taxes that are collected by some states.

Most states impose their own estate taxes, usually as a "sponge tax" that piggybacks on the federal estate tax.  The federal estate tax allows each estate a tax credit for any state inheritance or estate taxes paid, up to a maximum dollar amount.

Private Annuities & Charitable Trusts:
In a private annuity trust, an owner transfers property to an irrevocable trust in exchange for a promise to make prescribed payments to the owner for his or her lifetime.  The trust then sells the property to a third party, the proceeds of which are invested to provide the payments promised to the owner.  On death, the remainder of the trust estate typically passes to the heirs of the property owner.  The trustee must be someone other than the property owner.

A charitable trust is somewhat similar to a private annuity trust, except that the owner transfers property to an irrevocable trust of which one or more charitable organizations will be beneficiaries.  The type of charitable trust most likely to be used is a charitable remainder trust, in which the owner retains an income interest for his or her lifetime.  The property can be sold by the trustee and the proceeds invested to provide the payments to the owner.  On death or after a specified term of years, the remainder of the trust estate passes to one or more designated charitable organizations.  Unlike a private annuity trust, the trustee can be the property owner.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced Southern California Estate Planning Attorney, call Catanese & Wells today at 866-697-7130, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced Southern California Estate Planning Attorney, call Catanese & Wells today at 866-697-7130, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Catanese & Wells
31255 Cedar Valley Drive, Suite 213
Westlake Village, CA 91362
Telephone: 866-697-7130
Fax: 818-707-1161

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

T. Randolph Catanese

EDUCATION:

• Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 1983
• University of Arizona, B.A., 1980

JURISDICTIONS:

• California

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• Los Angeles County Bar Association
• Ventura County Bar Association

Douglas R. Hume

EDUCATION:

• Pepperdine University School of Law, J.D., 1997
• Azusa Pacific University, B.A., 1993

JURISDICTIONS:

• California

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

• Los Angeles County Bar