Thousand Oaks Estate Planning Lawyer

Serving Ventura County, Southern Santa Barbara, and the San Fernando Valley

Planning for your own long-term security and the continued well-being of your loved ones is a very important part of life.

As a dedicated and accomplished Thousand Oaks, California Estate Planning Lawyer, I enjoy a reputation for thoroughness, and for practical solutions to avoid contention in estate administration. I ask in-depth questions to make sure I understand my client’s needs, and I explain why I recommend a course of action.

I started my estate-planning practice with my banking colleagues, from in-house days, who were used to working with me to structure final transactions to anticipate problems and plan around them. I bring the same approach to personal financial matters, especially in estate matters. Let my experience work for you.

Contact my firm today if you or a loved one needs legal assistance with any of the following:

Probate
Wills
Trusts
Special Needs Trusts
Trust Administration
Estate Planning
Powers of Attorney
Estate Litigation
Conservatorship
Guardianships
Estate Tax Returns
Private Annuities & Charitable Trusts

Wills, Trust, Estate Planning:

Estate planning, through wills, trusts, durable powers of attorney and advance health care directives, are effective for not only passing one’s wealth to the next generation but also for making arrangements in advance for disability or lack of capacity in the future. We approach these matters by first attempting to obtain a clear understanding of not only our client’s intentions, but also of the particular dynamics of the family. We not only listen to our clients, we strive to present different issues or approaches that might not have been considered.

Our estate planning clients are as varied as the population of Southern California: young couples concerned about custody and care of their children in case the unthinkable happens, to mature couples whose families are less dependent on them in a personal way, and single people who want to make sure that their hard-earned assets go to the people they choose, not to those selected by the default rules of the law. We can give advice and counsel on making arrangements for guardians, for passing on the family business, and for caring for special needs members of the family.

While we always consider taxation issues, our planning is not driven by them. We look at all the concerns of our clients, and we learn from them. One client in particular decided that, because health and age issues suggested that his spouse would outlast him by many years, making sure his widow would not be burdened with too much administrative burden was much more important than simply assuring the smallest tax bite at her passing. We listened and learned to put taxes in perspective and not let them dominate the decision process.

Certainly avoiding probate is a rationale goal of an estate plan. In California, fees for the executor and for counsel are set by statute as a sliding percentage of the gross value of the probate estate. With the hyperinflation in real estate value in the State, probate becomes a very expensive proposition.

Probate:

Our probate cases have involved not only local residents, but also foreign nationals who have sufficient assets in California to warrant a probate proceeding to transfer title to real property.

We appear in probate matters in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, as well as neighboring counties.

Conservatorship:

Sometimes it is necessary for a family to intervene judicially in the life of a person who, regardless of age, cannot properly care and protect him or herself. Most often the person is an elderly parent or an uncle who can no longer properly manage their own financial or personal well-being. Other times, the proposed conservatee is a younger person who has suffered a severe trauma, but who has not designated anyone as his or her agent for health purposes.

In these situations, we represent and advise the family on conservatorships; a judicial proceeding that appoints someone to make personal, financial, or both kinds, of decisions for the incapacitated persons. Sometimes, the appointment is only temporary, until the person regains the capacity to function autonomously, but in others, the conservatorship can last a long time.

We represent not only family members who become conservators, but also registered, private, professional conservators.

No matter what your estate planning needs may be, my firm takes a very personal, hands-on approach to our clients and their cases. We will spend time with you to personally discuss your needs, and explain your options.

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 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.

Professional Profile

If you or someone you love needs the assistance of an experienced Thousand Oaks, California Estate Planning Lawyer, call Raymond L. Stuehrmann today at 866-708-4377, or complete the contact form provided on this site to arrange for a free consultation.

ADDRESS OF THE FIRM:
Law Office of Raymond L. Stuehrmann
100 East Thousand Oaks Boulevard
Suite 225
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Phone: 866-708-4377
Hours: M-F, 8:00AM-5:00PM
Services provided after-hours by appointment

MEMBERS OF THE FIRM:

Attorney Raymond L. Stuehrmann

Jurisdictions Attorney is Licensed in: California, and all four US District Courts in the State
Date Admitted to the Bar: 12/18/1975
Colleges Attended, Degree & Year Graduated: Pasadena City College; California State College at Los Angeles, Bachelor of Arts with High Honors in English, 1969; Loyola of Los Angeles Law School, Juris Doctor cum Laude, 1975.
Professional Memberships & Achievements: State Bar of California, Probate Section; Ventura County Bar Association, Probate Section; CPA Law Society of Ventura County; former member, Legal Affairs Committee of the California Bankers Association (1984-1992).

Office Location

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