What is the best way to find a good estate planning or probate lawyer in San Diego? There are many resources that can help you find an attorney – but not all of them will produce an optimal result. Two good ways of finding an attorney are by contacting your friends or the [...]
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A Wisconsin court has ruled that giving a loaded shotgun to a suicidal parent is not the proximate cause of the parent’s death (although it is the actual or but-for cause), so that a wife and daughter of the man may inherit his $500,000 estate. The man was terminally ill with lymphoma and his [...]
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Barack Obama has aired a new ad accusing John McCain of favoring offshore asset protection trusts that operate as tax shelters in Bermuda. McCain is alleged to have taken $50,000 while on a lobbyist supported vacation from those who have benefited from the trusts. You can see the ad here, courtesy of the [...]
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If you are appointed as executor, administrator, or personal representative (What are the duties of a personal representative?) of an estate, you are responsible for filing a tax return. An estate tax return must be filed within 9 months of the decedent’s death. Internal Revenue Code §6075. You may file for an extension [...]
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Probate is an expensive proposition in California. The cost will vary depending upon the size of the estate, but one thing is guaranteed – your estate will pay much more than the cost of a living trust. San Diego probate fees include the cost of filing, notice of publication in the San Diego [...]
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The executors (See “What is a California Personal Representative?“) of Superman’s estate – Joanne Siegal and Laura Siegal Larson – have successfully reclaimed the estate’s half of Jerome Siegal’s copyright of Superman by terminating its grant to Warner Brothers, Time Warner, and DC Comics.
The opinion is an interesting read on the creation and promotion of [...]
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Who may write a will in San Diego? Any person that is eighteen years of age and of sound mind may write a will (But should you? See Will Advantages; and Disadvantages of a Will). A person is of sound mind if they understand the rights, risks, and consequences of the testamentary act, [...]
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A will is a living, breathing legal document (See “What Will Happen if I Die Without a Will?”. There are many ways in which people have tried – and failed – to revoke California wills (See “Advantages of a Will” and “Disadvantages of a Will“) that have produced unexpected and unintended results. Just [...]
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In a previous article, “Eight Signs Your California Tax Shelter or Offshore Asset Protection Trust Is Actually Tax Evasion,” I pointed out that several partners were in trouble at Arnold and Porter for promoting abusive tax shelters. The current state of charges, indictments, and investigations against other firms are almost too numerous to count.
Indictments [...]
Filed under: Asset Protection Trusts, Current Events, Offshore Trusts, San Diego Estate Planning, Tax, Trusts | No Comments »
If San Diego estate planning is anything like the rest of the nation, it is in pretty bad shape. The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils has planned the third week of October for a National Estate Planning Awareness week. The reasons for the promotion?
70% of Americans do not have a [...]
Filed under: Current Events, Estate Planning - Generally, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills, San Diego Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills, Wills and Trusts | No Comments »
A California probate court [See "What is California Probate?"] correctly ruled that a widow was not entitled to her dead husband’s frozen sperm, held the California Court of Appeal (Third District). Estate of Kievernagel, C055516 ( 9/11/08). The issue was whether Joseph Kievernagel would have wanted his wife, Iris Kievernagel, to have the sperm [...]
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A will (see “Advantages of a Will”) drafted under California law cannot violate public policy. For example, a San Diego probate court (see “Disadvantages of San Diego Probate”) will not enforce a clause that dictates the commission of a crime or specifies that the beneficiary must divorce a named spouse before a gift from the [...]
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Now that the big accounting firms have been stung by IRS investigations, indictments, and convictions of the promoters of off the shelf tax shelters (like the POPS, PICOs, and FOCUS of Arnold and Porter), they have largely stopped offering speculative “investments” and offshore asset protection trusts. Now “a few smaller accounting and regional law [...]
Filed under: Asset Protection Trusts, Estate Planning - Generally, Estate Planning of the Rich and Famous, Offshore Trusts, San Diego Estate Planning, Tax, Trusts | No Comments »
Asset protection may come in many forms, but what if your tax shelter was built by God? That is the claim of an Iowa resident who believes he resides in heaven, the ultimate off-shore asset protection trust. The man’s logic seems to be that heaven is not within the jurisdictional reach of the [...]
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When you write a will, your estate becomes vulnerable to probate litigation (as opposed to a living trust). When you are related to the Godfather of Soul, there are many, many reasons (read: dollars) to litigate over a contested stake. Elvis Presley’s estate earned $49 million last year; John Lennon’s took in $44 [...]
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Michael Ray Jennison was found guilty of second degree murder of a real estate agent hired by a local San Diego probate lawyer. [See the first report here and the second report here.] Jennison inherited part of a condominium from his grandmother (see “What Will Happen If I Die Without A Will?“). Probate agent [...]
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Statutory Trust Revocation May Reward Devious Spouses - Punish Sloppy Trust Drafting
It has long been settled that under California probate law, if the trust does not provide for an exclusive method of revocation, the settlors may revoke either by the method contained in the trust or by resort to procedures outlined under statutory revocation. [...]
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A lot can hang in the balance upon the death of a person. Although not every family murder is driven by a large inheritance, it has happened enough that a general rule of law has formed to prevent the person from benefiting from the crime. Not only has the rule of law been [...]
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Many parents do not realize that if circumstances suddenly change, as in unforeseen death, incapacity, or some other circumstance prevents their ability to care for their children, a legal guardianship process will be instituted in which a caregiver is selected by a California probate court. For example, if a parent were arrested while her [...]
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A guardianship is appointed for juveniles whose parents cannot take care of their children anymore for any number of reasons, such as a physical illness, military deployment, drug or alcohol problems, or child neglect. In California, there are two types of guardianships, each of which is handled by the San Diego Probate Court.
Probate Guardianship of [...]
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