Kaiser Law Group Estate & Legacy Planning

Heading into a volatile election season, the risk of higher income and estate taxes in 2021 and beyond is a very real concern for our affluent clients. Today’s federal income and estate taxes are historically low (even if it might not feel like it!) and with the tremendous COVID-related stimulus spending plus the prospect of a shift in the White House, most seasoned observers and economists are forecasting higher estate tax and income tax rates moving forward. What does that mean for you bottom line? If you think of the taxes you and your family pay/will pay across generations (rather than just the taxes you pay during your lifetime), then you should consider exploring strategies to gift assets to subsequent generations before the end of this year.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation and recommendations from the CDC, our team is working from home and will remain available to you through phone calls or emails. Please leave a message if we do not answer the phone.

One tricky issue that clients are NOT often aware of is that the assessor’s office makes a very nuanced distinction between real estate that is eligible for parent-child exclusion protection and real estate held inside entities such as limited liability companies (LLCs) that are NOT eligible for that protection.

Happy New Year!

Kaiser Law Group was pleased to be one of the sponsors of the JFCS Runway event this year. I had lots of fun being a model for the event. Note my wife Kristie in the first row on the right laughing even though when I flashed Blue Steel I was going more for smoldering than hilarious! My Mom told me the day of the event that my grandfather used sliding scale counseling services provided by JFCS a few decades ago when he was struggling with my grandmother’s severe early-ons...et dementia and it made a big difference in his life and his ability to take care of himself and his wife for many years. I’m grateful for what JFCS did for my family and what it does for our community without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or ability to pay. Learn more about the JFCS of Long Beach / West Orange County at https://jfcslongbeach.org/ and the Runway event at https://jfcsrunway.com/

I’ve never worked with anyone as long as Lorie and I have worked together. Although a great deal has changed in our personal lives and in the shape of our law firm, I rest easy both at the office and away from the office knowing that Lorie will have the best interests of our clients and our firm in the front of her mind 100% of the time. In this month’s blog post, Lorie shares a bit about our firm’s humble beginnings and some of her perspective on why we’ve been fortunate enough to grow over the past decade.

We are all constantly looking for ways to improve. Whether it be our processes, our approach or our services offered, we have our clients and their loved ones’ best interests in mind. In looking back, I attribute the growth and success of the firm to Curtis’s wonderful, caring nature along with the incredible team that he has built. We all share his vision that if every decision we make supports in the following order: 1. our clients; 2. our clients trusted advisors; and 3. our team membersthen the firm will be successful.

As we are enjoying these last few days and weeks of summer, perhaps travelling or spending time at the beach, is it possible that estate planning isn’t the first thing on our minds? When you hear the phrase estate plan, you might first think about paperwork. Or your mind might land on some of the uncomfortable topics that estate planning confronts head-on: end-of-life decisions, incapacity, and your family’s legacy from generation to generation. Those subjects hit home fo...r everyone. But while that could feel like a reason to avoid estate planning, the emotional nature of these conversations or decisions might actually be a reason to consider embracing the process. Most of our clients actually do embrace the process and experience good results and positive emotions. Here are a few ways in which emotion in estate planning is a good thing:

A properly drafted discretionary trust will protect a beneficiary’s inheritance from creditors, predators, and divorcing spouses, avoid estate taxes when the beneficiary dies, and ensure that it ultimately passes to the beneficiaries of your choice.

I’m an Estate Planning paralegal with a focus on Trust Administration. Trust administration is the process of carrying out the terms and wishes of the creators of the trust because something has happened to them such as incapacity or their passing away. Unfortunately, in all the years that I have been a Trust Administration Paralegal, I have never run into an administration where the Trust and the assets involved were 100% properly aligned with the document specified. That’s probably hard to believe since I’ve worked on many, many dozens of plans during this time. Even though there are avenues for remedying these situations, almost every time, this has caused the beneficiaries and/or trustees additional stress and anguish in the weeks and months after losing their loved ones. ~Shane Mirghanbari

My family is grateful for all of the love and support we've received over the past year. This week will be the five month mark since my surgery and I'm feeling great! As a small token of thanks in April, in honor of organ donation awareness month, we requested nominations for living kidney donors to receive a pro bono estate plan. Kaiser Law Group is now announcing our two winners! We will be creating an estate plan pro bono for Khatija Bholat and her husband Chris Minter. C...hris donated a kidney when he was in college to his friend John. Khatija reports that John is now an AP history teacher with three beautiful children. We will be getting Brian Fowler and his wife Jeny Nicholson on our Legacy Plan platform to ensure that their estate planning needs are taken care of for life. We will be putting them on the platform and providing three years as part of our Legacy Plan pro bono. Brian and Jeny were referred to us by their good friend Tushar Dwivedi. A few years ago, Brian was the hero that saved Tushar's Dad's life by donating him a kidney. Coincidentally, Tushar and his wife Cristina were referred to us by my good friend Abhilash Patel. Abhilash and Tushar's father were childhood friends in India, and their sons continued the family friendship in California. Now, Abhilash's Dad is in need of a kidney. Please check out www.grandpacan.com.

I have been working as an Estate Planning Paralegal for over a decade, and as a Senior Paralegal with Curtis and Kaiser Law Group for the last 2 years. And, yes, of course, at Kaiser Law Group our estate planning paralegals do all those very ordinary, solid, routine tasks, but Curtis and I believe that our Estate Planning Paralegals do much more. In fact, we believe our Estate Planning Paralegals at Kaiser Law Group are the heart of the KLG family and are relentlessly dedicated to supporting, guiding and helping our clients and their families through their Estate Planning journey. ~Jennifer