Thank Congress if You Made Big Gifts in 2012

Hank Wittenberg has a great article on estateplanning.com on why those of you who did year end planning in 2012 made the right choice, even though Congress extended the generous gift and estate tax exclusions with the American Taxpayer Relief Act. The tax act signed into law by President Obama last week provided some very good estate planning provisions. Surprisingly, I have … [More...]

Thank Congress if You Made Big Gifts in 2012

Hank Wittenberg has a great article on estateplanning.com on why those of you who did year end planning in 2012 made the right choice, even though Congress extended the generous gift and estate tax exclusions with the American Taxpayer Relief Act. The tax act signed into law by President Obama last week provided some very good estate planning provisions. Surprisingly, I have … [More...]

Advice from Jeff Bezos

From the 37 Signals blog (via GeekWire). Jeff Bezos says smart people change their mind. The smartest people are constantly revising their understanding, reconsidering a problem they thought they’d already solved. They’re open to new points of view, new information, new ideas, contradictions, and challenges to their own way of thinking. This doesn’t mean you … [More...]

Lifetime Bypass Trust

Until December 31, the lifetime gift tax exclusion is $5,120,000 per person. Unless Congress acts, this amount will drop to $1,000,000 on January 1, 2013.  It is usually best to use a tax exemption as soon as possible – use it or lose it. The opportunity, good now through the December 31, is to gift assets out of your estate and forever exempt the assets and all future … [More...]

8. You Can Give Your Children Divorce and Asset Protection

This is part 8 in my series, Estate Planning – What You Need to Know. Part 8 - You Can Give Your Children Divorce and Asset Protection. Of the thousands of clients I’ve worked with, most know how they want to distribute their assets when they die:  For married couples, it’s usually to the surviving spouse and then in equal shares to their children.  For a … [More...]

How We Can Help You

We are an intentionally small California law firm based in Sacramento. We help families with estate planning (things like living trusts, irrevocable trusts, charitable trusts, wills, trust administration and probate), we counsel entrepreneurs and small business owners, set up corporations and LLCs, and we help churches and nonprofits with planned giving. We will treat you like we would want to be treated. This means we will be kind, we will teach you about legal issues- not lecture you.  We will return phone calls and emails usually in a few hours, and we will charge a fair fixed fee (we rarely bill by the hour – we think you should know in advance what it will cost). Our clients like working with us, and almost all our work comes from client referrals.

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Recent Posts

6. Revocable Living Trust

August 26, 2012 By

This is part 6 in my series, Estate Planning – What You Need to Know. Part 6 - Revocable Living Trust. The solution for probate is a revocable living trust. A revocable living trust is a legal contract you make with yourself, or, if you are married in a community property state like California, with your spouse. The trust is a set of instructions on how you want your assets to be managed if you become incapacitated and how you want them distributed when you pass away. You, or if it is a joint trust with your spouse, you and your spouse, are the managers, or trustees, of your trust. As trustee, you have full authority over the trust assets: you can buy, sell and spend assets as you see fit, … [More...]

5. What If I Only Have a Will?

August 22, 2012 By

This is part 5 in my series, Estate Planning – What You Need to Know. 5 - What If You Have Only a Will? So maybe you’ve done some planning. You’ve executed a will. Is that enough? Maybe not. The will states who gets your assets, and if you have young children, it names the guardians to raise your children. That’s good and it’s certainly better than no plan. However, the downside to a will is your family or friends may have to take your estate through probate, and they probably won’t be happy about it. Probate is a court procedure where an attorney will file your will in the court’s public records, notify any existing and potential creditors and heirs to make a claim against … [More...]

Income tax rates

2013 Income Tax Rates Will Go Up

August 13, 2012 By

If Congress and the President do nothing, income tax rates will go up in a big way in 2013. Here is what it will look like. Individual Income Tax Rates Tax Brackets (2012 Dollar Amounts) Marginal Rate Unmarried Filers Married Joint Filers Over But Not Over Over But Not Over 2012 2013 $0 $8,700 $0 $17,400 10% 15% 8,700 35,350 17,400 70,700* 15% 15% 35,350 85,650 70,700* 142,700 25% 28% 85,650 178,650 142,700 217,450 28% 31% 178,650 388,350 217,450 388,350 33% 36% 388,350 ... 388,350 ... 35% 39.6%   Long-Term Capital Gain Rates Maximum Rates 2012 2013 2013 (including Medicare contribution … [More...]

4. Why You Need Guardians If You Have Young Children.

August 11, 2012 By

This is part 4 in my series, Estate Planning - What You Need to Know. Why You Need Guardians if You Have Young Children. If you have young children, the most important part of your estate plan is naming the guardians to raise your children if something happens to you and your spouse. Typically, the guardians are named in the will. If the estate plan has a revocable living trust, the guardians are named in the pour-over will. Naming guardians is not easy.  But if you have young children, you have to do it. If you don’t name guardians and something happens to you and your spouse, the court will have to decide who will raise your children. Some of my clients have an easy time naming … [More...]

3. What if You Don’t Have an Estate Plan?

August 10, 2012 By

Here is Part 3 of my series, Estate Planning - What You Need to Know. What if You Don't Have an Estate Plan? Simply put, if you don’t have a will or a revocable living trust, then when you die, your assets will go according to state law found in the probate code. If you live in California it goes like this: if you are married, your assets will go to your spouse. If you have children, your separate assets will go either one-half to your spouse if you have one child, and one-third to your spouse if you have more than one child. The rest will go to your child(ren). If you are not married and don’t have children, your assets will go to your next of kin in the following … [More...]

2. Who Needs an Estate Plan?

August 7, 2012 By

Here is part 2 my series entitled, Estate Planning – What You Need to Know. Who Needs an Estate Plan? If you have a family, a house or a business or you have assets you would like to pass down to certain people or charities, then you absolutely need an estate plan. An estate plan will make sure there are enough funds to take care of your spouse and young children, often with life insurance, and it will name guardians to raise your young children if you and your spouse are no longer around. An estate plan will make sure your hard-earned assets will stay in the family and will not be left for the state and federal government to tax and the court to distribute. An estate plan will make … [More...]

1. What is an Estate Plan?

August 6, 2012 By

In the next two weeks, I will publish my new series entitled, Estate Planning - What You Need to Know. Here is part 1. 1. What is an Estate Plan? An estate plan is a set of legal documents that allows certain things to happen when you die or if you can no longer manage your affairs. If you have young children, it names the Guardians you want to raise your children if something happens to you and your spouse. If you have young children, this is the most important reason to do your estate planning. It names the person you want to manage your estate when you pass away or if you become incapacitated. You don’t want a judge who doesn’t know you or your family to make the decision for … [More...]

Estate Tax What’s Next?

July 28, 2012 By

The politicians probably won't make any decisions on the 2013 estate tax until after the November election. Apparently, they don't want the voters to know how they would vote on this important issue before the election. Are you surprised? Here is the current status: In 2012, estates less than $5,120,000 (the exclusion amount) will not have to pay an estate tax, double that amount for married couples. However, unless the law is changed, the exclusion amount will drop to $1,000,000 in 2013. This means if you die in 2013 and have assets worth more than $1,000,000, the amount over $1,000,000 will be taxed at 55%. Keep in mind, life insurance death benefits count as part of your taxable … [More...]

Innovate Your Business By Doing Less!

July 26, 2012 By

If you are an entrepreneur, pastor or executive director of a non-profit, you need to read my article, Innovate Your Business By Doing Less, on my personal blog. … [More...]

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