Practice Areas and Legal Definitions

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.

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.

Estate Taxes:
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.

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.

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.

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.

Taxation:
Includes advising on the structuring and reporting of transactions to minimize federal and state tax liabilities. I have extensive background in representing taxpayers before the IRS. This also, includes advice on avoiding Proposition 13 increases in assessed values as well as sales and use tax reporting and structuring of transactions.

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.

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.

If you or someone you know needs the assistance of an experienced California estate planning lawyer, call me today at 866-307-0091, or complete the contact form provided on this site to schedule your free one-hour consultation.

• Purdue University, B.A., 1967
• University of Cincinnati, College of Law, J.D., 1970
• University of California, Berkeley, M.B.A., 1980
• Golden Gate University, LL.M. (Taxation) with honors, 2001

• California
• Ohio (inactive)

• American Bar Association
• California Bar Association
• Marin County Bar Association
• Marin Estate Planning Council
• Trustee Marin County Law Library
• Wealth Counsel
• Wealth Counsel Advisors Forum

Other Professional Experience:

• Trial Counsel with the IRS 1971-1980
• Colonel, United State Army Reserve, JA (retired)