Blog Posts in December, 2011
Posted on Dec 30, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Earlier this year the IRS filed a lawsuit against the California Board of Equalization due to the board's refusal to turn over records on real estate transfers made to relatives with little or no ...
Continue reading "Trying To Avoid Gift Taxes? The IRS May Be Coming For You!" »
Posted on Dec 27, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
At a glance, online legal form providers may seem like a cheaper alternative way to go for 'do-it-yourself' estate planning. After all, the commercials on radio and television make it seem ...
Continue reading "DIY Estate Planning Is No Substitute for The Real Thing" »
Posted on Dec 26, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
While custodial accounts are very similar to trusts, the point of a custodial account is to allow you to transfer property to minor beneficiaries without having to establish a trust. They work in the ...
Continue reading "Custodial Accounts vs. Trusts" »
Posted on Dec 23, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
If you want to leave and inheritance to a minor beneficiary, and the amount of that inheritance is not too substantial, a good idea would be to leave the assets in a restricted account. This way you ...
Continue reading "Inheritance To Minors - Restricted Accounts" »
Posted on Dec 22, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
If you are thinking of leaving a minor a substantial inheritance you may want to consider leaving it to them in a trust for their entire lifetime. The benefits of creating a trust like this are: - You ...
Continue reading "Inheritance To Minors - Lifetime Trust" »
Posted on Dec 21, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
If you are considering leaving an inheritance to minor beneficiaries you will need to plan carefully as property left to minors will most likely be subjected to some kind of court-supervised ...
Continue reading "Inheritance To Minors - Staggering A Trust" »
Posted on Dec 15, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
In previous posts we discussed types of payments that will qualify for tax exemptions, such as the unlimited education gift exclusion. Another one of these such unlimited exclusions would be payments ...
Continue reading "Unlimited Gift Exclusion for Medical Expenses" »
Posted on Dec 14, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
In addition to the annual exclusion gift there are two types of unlimited gifts. These will not count against the annual gift tax exclusion. The first of these unlimited types of gifts would be any ...
Continue reading "Unlimited Gift Exclusion for Education" »
Posted on Dec 13, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Now that all the Thanksgiving leftovers have been eaten and the madness of Christmas shopping has begun, it means that the end of 2011 is fast approaching upon us. However, between the shopping and ...
Continue reading "Annual Exclusion Gift for Year End Estate Planning" »
Posted on Dec 9, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Even if you've already gone through the process of setting up your estate plan, you should always feel free to give your estate planner a call when there are some additional questions or concerns ...
Continue reading "Do Not Hesitate To Call Your Estate Planning Attorney" »
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 By Los Angeles Estate Planning Attorney
Not according to the California courts. In the case of Christopher Gene Fazzi v. Norma Jean Klein, 2010 Cal. App. LEXIS 2112 , Christopher sought to remove his mother, Norma, has the sole trustee for ...
Continue reading "Are Trustees Protected from Fiduciary Breaches by No Contest Clauses?" »