Services

Living Trusts

A living trust allows your heirs to settle your estate without the expense and delay of probate court proceedings and supervision. In California, estates in excess of $150,000 are subject to probate. Most importantly, a living trust allows you to determine who will receive your estate and whether the inheritance will be held in trust or distributed outright to your beneficiaries.

Our standard estate planning service typically includes the following documents:

• Last Will and Testament
• Revocable Living Trust
• Trust Transfer Deed for a California residence
• Durable Power of Attorney for property management
• Advanced Healthcare Directive

Estate Tax Planning

Avoiding probate does nothing to avoid estate taxes. Many people are under the false belief that if they have a living trust, their assets will pass to their heirs free of estate taxes. Because Tim has legal, tax, investment and insurance expertise, he is able to design and implement plans that can reduce these taxes.

Trust-owned life insurance is an efficient means of retaining assets. When properly structured, life insurance proceeds are income and estate tax free. Having worked with a major life insurance company as a wealth strategy coach, Tim is able to offer special guidance in this area.

The law allows you to establish trusts that continue free of estate taxes for your children and grandchildren. Multi-generational planning is complex and Tim brings an uncommon depth of knowledge and experience to this area of planning.

Trust Administration and Probate

Trustees and executors rely on Tim’s advice to carry out their fiduciary responsibilities. The tasks can be overwhelming: tax filings, court proceedings, settling creditor claims, marshaling and liquidating assets, and communicating with beneficiaries. Tim’s clients appreciate his professional and common sense way of dealing with these potentially challenging issues.

Even diligent planning can not anticipate every contingency. Thankfully, the law allows beneficiaries opportunities to reduce taxes through post-mortem tax planning. These decisions are time sensitive and are generally made within the first few months following the decedent’s death.

Charitable Planning

Tim has extensive experience with the full range of charitable planning, including donor advised funds, charitable remainder trusts, charitable lead trusts, and private foundations.

What will be your family legacy? How will you give back to society? Will your trustee pay taxes to the government? Or, would you prefer to leave a gift to charity? Tim is able to match your goals with your wealth planning options.