Helping to keep our community informed is important to us. We regularly get out into the community to provide helpful information to people here in the greater San Jose area. To this end, we present an ongoing series of informational workshops covering various elder care and estate planning topics.Our workshops and seminars are free of charge and open to the public. During the next two weeks, we will be offering seminars that focus on living trusts.Why Consider a Living Trust?Some … [Read more...]
Special Needs Trusts: Two Words to Say Fairness
By: Matthew M. Shafae, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandSpecial Needs Trusts (also called Supplemental Needs Trusts) are specific types of trusts that allow a disabled person to be the beneficiary of a trust while not interrupting his/her eligibility to receive government assistance. Without a Special Needs Trust, persons with disabilities risk losing government benefits if they receive an inheritance, a personal injury award, or receive other funds.In 1993, the Omnibus Budget … [Read more...]
Clayton Trust – The Advantages of the B-Trust
By: Justin M. Kennedy, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandPrior to 2014, for married clients with estates valued at over one million dollar ($1,000,000), our office often recommended ABC Trusts. This trust structure was used to preserve the Deceased Spouse’s estate tax exemption. For much of that time, there was a one million dollar ($1,000,000) estate tax exemption. Utilizing the ABC Trust structure allowed you to double that, to be able to pass two million dollars ($2,000,000) free of … [Read more...]
Transfer on Death Deeds
By: Justin M. Kennedy, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandIn 2016, the State of California introduced a new Transfer on Death Deed (TOD Deed). When the TOD Deed was first announced, we advised our clients against using it. One of the many reasons against using the TOD Deed is that the property could be subject to a Medi-Cal Estate Recovery claim upon the owner’s death. As of January 01, 2017, so long as the TOD Deed has at least one living beneficiary upon the owner’s death such that … [Read more...]
Portability and Second Marriages
by Matthew M. Shafae and Justin M. Kennedy, AttorneysLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandA lot of estate planning hypothetical situations involve the spouse dying, and the survivor getting hitched with some nefarious predator who is only after the survivor’s wealth. All of our attention is paid toward preserving the estate and protecting the kids. But what about a second marriage that actually benefits the kids, and helps preserve the estate? We recently had precisely that scenario in our … [Read more...]
Join Us for Our Last Two Free Living Trust Seminars of 2016
If you do not have an estate plan – or if your estate plan consists only of a basic will – you may not be adequately protecting your family against probate and estate taxes.Without proper planning, your family could lose a large portion of your estate to probate fees and estate taxes, even if you have a will…Setting Up a Living Trust is One of the Most Important Things You Can Do for Yourself and for Your Family During Your LifetimeA Living Trust will transfer your estate to your … [Read more...]
Are All Trusts Asset-Protecting Trusts?
By: Matthew M. Shafae, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandThe living trust is the bedrock foundation upon which our estate plans are built. It’s right there in the word: trust. It sounds safe and secure; it’s warm peace of mind. If you’ve been to one of our seminars or workshops, you’ve probably heard us tout the benefits of an asset-protection trust, and how our clients typically take advantage of this estate planning enhancement to leave property to loved ones without having the … [Read more...]
Sorting Through the Taxes That May Impact Your Estate Plan
By: Matthew M. Shafae, AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandThe “T-word” usually makes our eyes glaze over and we picture an overworked accountant wearing a green eyeshade crunching a bunch of numbers for us every April. Well, unfortunately, I can’t make them go away, but I can attempt to explain how taxes may impact your estate planning.Within the context of your estate plan, there are typically three main taxes that are relevant: the estate tax, the income tax, and, sometimes, … [Read more...]
Electing Portability
By: Justin M. Kennedy, Associate AttorneyLaw Office of Roy W. LitherlandEvery person is entitled to give away a certain amount of money tax-free, either during life or at death. Under the current federal estate tax law, all US citizens are each allowed an estate tax exemption of $5,000,000 (this amount is indexed for inflation and is $5,450,000 in 2016). This amount may also be reduced by gifts while living that exceed the annual exemption amount ($14,000 in 2016).This blog article … [Read more...]
What Happens to a Living Trust when a Spouse Passes Away?
In this blog article, we will address the issue of living trusts as they apply to married couples and what happens to the trust upon the passing of the first spouse.First, we will review the value of living trusts in general.Many people assume that a last will is the best choice when they are planning their estates. They believe that trusts are only useful for those who are very wealthy. However, this is not entirely true. While there are trusts that are utilized to meet the objectives … [Read more...]
