Estate planning tools
The tools involved in estate planning include the will, various types of trusts, beneficiary designations, powers of appointment, various forms of property ownership (Joint tenancy with rights of survivorship, tenancy in common, tenancy by the entirety, etc), gifting, and powers of attorney, specifically the durable financial power of attorney and the durable medical power of attorney. After widespread litigation and media coverage surrounding the Terri Schiavo case, virtually all estate planning attorneys now advise their clients to also create a living will. Note that many people (and even some attorneys) confuse a living will with a durable medical power of attorney. The former controls solely those decisions that must be made at the end of the patient's life, while the latter is used to give decision-making authority to someone else (usually a family member or close friend). This person, the attorney-in-fact, then makes all medical decisions leading up to the person's death, but has no such power to make end of life decisions for the patient. Those decisions are made by the patient in the living will; in the absence of a living will, and where the patient is incapable of making end-of-life decisions for him or herself, such choices are left to family members.

Remainder interests
The tax code allows wealthy people to set up charitable remainder trusts and set up qualified personal residence trusts to own their personal residence yet leave it to their children without estate tax.

Paying taxes
Because the United States tax code does not tax life insurance proceeds as income, a life insurance trust could be used to pay estate taxes. However, if the decedent holds any incidents of ownership like the ability to remove or change beneficiary, the proceeds will remain in his estate. For this reason, the trust vehicle is used to own the life insurance policy and it must be irrevocable to avoid inclusion in the estate.

Estate planning mediation
Estate planning mediation serves as preventative measure against future litigation. In the mediation session, a person can include his/her family members and beneficiary organization representatives in their discussion about plans for transferring assets in the future. Because of the potential conflicts associated with blended families, step siblings, and multiple marriages, creating an estate plan through mediation allows people to confront the issues head-on and design a plan that will minimize the chance of future family conflict and meet their financial goals.

Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an extremely important role in human societies.

Trusts and estates
The law of trusts and estates is generally considered the body of law which governs the management of personal affairs and the disposition of property of an individual in anticipation of the event of such person's incapacity or death, also known as the law of successions in civil law. Its techniques are also used to fulfil the wishes of philanthropic bequests or gifts through the creation, maintenance and supervision of charitable trusts. In some jurisdictions, such as the United States, it overlaps with the area that has come to be known as elder law that deals not only with estate planning but other issues that face the elderly, such as home care, long term care insurance or social security or disability benefits.

What is an estate?
At common law, an estate consisted of the tangible assets of real and personal property which belong to a natural person. More recently, the concept of an estate has been expanded to encompass any thing of value to which the deceased person was or might have been entitled to claim during his or her lifetime. The property of the estate must either be beqeathed through a will or transferred through the laws of intestacy if there is no will. A will is the most commonly used legal instrument for the distribution of the property of a deceased person. Before property can be disposed of pursuant to the terms of a will, the will must be submitted to a probate court having jurisdiction of the estate of the deceased. Probate is often considered a relatively lengthy and expensive process, albeit one which may provide greater safeguards with regard to the rights of a deceased person's beneficiaries, though probate often is contested by creditors or disgruntled members of the family of the deceased who feel they have not received their fair share of the deceased's property.

Uses of trusts
In order to expedite the process of transferring assets to intended benficiaries, some people choose to arrange their property so that it can bypass the probate process upon their deaths. For example, placing property into a trust before death (as opposed to a testamentary trust) will often allow the accomplishment of the objectives of property distribution without coming under the jurisdiction of a court and the possible redistribution after a lengthy contested probate process and trial. Similarly, jointly held property (in common law systems), life insurance, annuities, US Tax Code section 401(k) Retirement Plans or Individual Retirement Accounts (also known as Registered Retirement Savings Plans in Canada) will also avoid probate as these devices allow property to transfer to beneficiaries outside the probate process. Special needs trusts are created to ensure that beneficiaries who are developmentally disabled or mentally ill can receive inheritances without losing access to essential government benefits.

Use of estates and trusts
Another major factor in trusts and estates law may be to minimize one's tax exposure. After an applicable exempt amount, the United States federal estate tax very quickly approaches 50% of one's taxable estate. The proper use of trusts may reduce one's tax burden. The applicable exempt amount is currently two million dollars in 2006. The exempt amount is scheduled to increase to three and a half million in 2009, after which the estate tax is temporarily repealed for one year in 2010. The year after, the estate tax is scheduled to be reinstated, with the previous exemption of one million dollars. Trusts may also allow people a certain limited amount of control of how the amount held by the trust is handled. For example, one could leave money for somebody who may not be mature enough to handle money, and state that the money can only be used for health, education, support and maintenance of that person until the age of 35, upon which time the remaining income and principal will be distributed. One can also distribute one's assets to charitable purposes by creating an irrevocable charitable trust that may distribute the principal or the income of the trust much in the same manner as a private foundation.

Gift tax in the United States
A gift tax is a tax imposed on the gratuitous transfer of ownership of property. The tax is generally imposed on the donor (the giver) rather than on the recipient. A transfer is completely gratuitous where the donor receives nothing of value in exchange for the gifted property. A transfer is gratuitous in part where the donor receives some value but the value of the property received by the donor is substantially less than the value of the property given by the donor. In the United States, the gift tax is governed by Chapter 12, Subtitle B of the Internal Revenue Code. The tax is imposed by section 2501 of the Code. Generally, if an interest in property is transferred during the giver's lifetime (often called an inter vivos gift) then the gift or transfer would not be subject to the estate tax. In 1976, Congress unified the gift and estate taxes limiting the giver’s ability to circumvent the estate tax by gifting during his or her lifetime. Notwithstanding, there remain differences between estate and gift taxes such as the effective tax rate, the amount of the credit available against tax, and the basis of the received property. There are also types of gifts which will be included in a person's estate such as certain gifts made within the three year window before death and gifts in which the donor retains an interest, such as gifts of remainder interests that are not either qualified remainder trusts or charitable remainder trusts. The remainder interest gift tax rules apply the gift tax on the entire value of the trust by assigning a zero value to the interest retained by the donor.

Non-taxable gifts
Generally, the following gifts are not taxable gifts:

* Gifts that are not more than the annual exclusion for the calendar year,
* Gifts to a political organization for its use,
* Gifts to charities,
* Gifts to one's spouse,
* Tuition or medical expenses one pays directly to a medical or educational institution for someone,

Gift tax exemptions
There are two levels of exemption from the gift tax. First, transfers of up to (as of 2006) $12,000 per person per year are not subject to the tax. An individual can make gifts up to this amount to as many people as they wish each year. A married couple can pool their individual gift exemptions to make gifts worth up to $24,000 per couple per year without incurring any gift tax. Gifting is limited to a cumulative amount of $345,000 per year. A lifetime gifting limit of $1,000,000 (gifts above the annual exclusions) is allowed before a gift tax is incurred. If an individual or couple makes gifts of more than the limit, gift tax is incurred. The individual or couple has the option of paying the gift taxes that year, or to use some of the "unified credit" that would otherwise reduce the estate tax. In some situations it may be advisable to pay the tax in advance to reduce the size of the estate. In many instances, however, an estate planning strategy is to give the maximum amount possible to as many people as possible to reduce the size of the estate. Furthermore, transfers (whether by bequest, gift, or inheritance) in excess of $1 million may be subject to a generation-skipping transfer tax if certain other criteria are met.

U.S. Federal gift tax contrasted with U.S. Federal income tax treatment of gifts
The treatment of a gift for purposes of the U.S. gift tax (the transfer tax) should not be confused with the treatment of gifts for other tax purposes. For example, for U.S. income tax purposes, most gifts are excluded (under Internal Revenue Code section 102) from the gross income of the recipient, and thus are not taxed as income. For the purposes of taxable income, courts have defined "gift" as proceeds from a "detached and disinterested generosity." See Commissioner v. Duberstein (quoting Commissioner v. LoBue, 351 U.S. 243 (1956)). The purpose of the gift tax is generally to encourage generosity between parties and to help the distribution of wealth. However, there are some limits, including that you are not able to transfer an interest of a loss as part of the gift. This is generally known as the inability to gift a loss. General rules regarding the tax options of gifts can be found in section 102 of the Code. Gifts from certain parties will always be taxed for U.S. Federal income tax purposes. Under Internal Revenue Code section 102(c), gifts transferred by or for an employer to, or for the benefit of, an employee cannot be excluded from the gross income of the employee for Federal income tax purposes. While there are some statutory exemptions under this rule for de minimis fringe amounts, and for achievement awards, the general rule is the employee must report a “gift” from the employer as income for Federal income tax purposes. The foundation for the preceding rule is the presumption that employers do not give employees items of value out of "detached and disinterested generosity" due to the existing employment relationship. Under Internal Revenue Code section 102(b)(1), income subsequently derived from any property received as a gift is not excludable from the income. It is income to the recipient of the gift. In addition, under Internal Revenue Code section 102(b)(2), a donor may not circumvent this requirement by gifting only the income and not the property itself to the recipient. Thus, a gift of income is always income to the recipient. Permitting such an exclusion would allow the donor and the recipient to avoid paying taxes on the income received, a loophole Congress has chosen to eliminate.

Will (law)
In common law, a will or testament is a document by which a person (the testator) regulates the rights of others over his or her property or family after death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy. In the strictest sense, a "will" is a general term, while "testament" applies only to dispositions of personal property (this distinction is seldom observed). A will is also used as the instrument in a trust.

Requirements for the creation of a will
Any person over the age of majority can draft their own will without the aid of an attorney. Additional requirements may vary, depending on the jurisdiction, but every will must contain the following:

* The testator must clearly identify himself or herself as the maker of the will, and that a will is being made; this is commonly called "publication" of the will, and is typically satisfied by the words "last will and testament" on the face of the document.

* The testator must declare that he or she revokes all previously-made wills and codicils. Otherwise, a subsequently-made will revokes earlier wills and codicils only to the extent that they are inconsistent. However, if a subsequent will is completely inconsistent with an earlier one, that earlier will be considered completely revoked by implication.

* The testator must demonstrate that he or she has the capacity to dispose of his or her property, and does so freely and willingly.

* The testator must sign and date the will, usually in the presence of at least two disinterested witnesses (persons who are not beneficiaries). In some jurisdictions, for example Kentucky, the spouse of a beneficiary is also considered an interested witness. In the USA, Pennsylvania is the only state which does not require the signing of the will to be witnessed.

* The testator's signature must be placed at the end of the will. If this is not observed, any text following the signature will be ignored, or the entire will may be invalidated if what comes after the signature is so material that ignoring it would defeat the testator's intentions.

After the testator has died, a probate proceeding may be initiated in court to determine the validity of the will or wills that the testator may have created, i.e., which will satisfied the legal requirements, and to appoint an executor. If the will is ruled invalid in probate, then inheritance will occur under the laws of intestacy as if a will were never drafted. There is no legal requirement that a will be drawn up by a lawyer, although there are pitfalls into which home-made wills can fall. The person who makes a will is not available to explain him or herself, or to correct any technical deficiency or error in expression, when it comes into effect on that person's death, and so there is little room for mistake. A common error (for example) in the execution of home-made wills in England is to use a beneficiary (typically a spouse or other close family members) as a witness -- although this has the effect in law of disinheriting the witness regardless of the provisions of the will. Some states recognize a holographic will, made out entirely in the testator's own hand. A minority of states even recognize the validity of nuncupative wills, which are expressed orally. In England, the formalities of wills are relaxed for soldiers who express their wishes on active service. A will may not include a requirement that an heir commit an illegal, immoral, or other act against public policy as a condition of receipt. In community property jurisdictions, a will cannot be used to disinherit a surviving spouse, who is entitled to at least a portion of the testator's estate. In England, a will may disinherit a spouse, but close relations excluded from a will (including but not limited to spouses) may apply to the court for provision to be made for them at the court's discretion. It is a good idea that the testator give his executor the power to pay debts, taxes, and administration expenses (probate, etc.). Warren Burger's will did not contain this, which wound up costing his estate thousands. This is not a consideration in English law, which provides that all such expenses will fall on the estate in any case.

Revocation

Methods and effect
The intentional physical destruction of a will by the testator will revoke it. This could be accomplished by the testator deliberately burning or tearing the physical document itself, or even by striking out the signature. Most jurisdictions allow partial revocation if only part of the text or a particular provision is crossed out. Other jurisdictions will either ignore the attempt or hold that the entire will was actually revoked. A testator may also be able to revoke by the physical act of another (as would be necessary if he is physically incapacitated), if this is done in his presence and in the presence of witnesses. Some jurisdictions may presume that a will has been destroyed if it had been last seen in the possession of the testator but is found mutilated or cannot be found after his death. A will may also be revoked by the execution of a new will. Most wills contain stock language that expressly revokes any wills that came before them, however, because normally a court will still attempt to read the wills together to the extent they are consistent. In some jurisdictions, the complete revocation of a will automatically revives the next most recent will, while others hold that revocation leaves the testator with no will so that his heirs will instead inherit by intestate succession. In England and Wales, marriage will automatically revoke a will as it is presumed that upon marriage, a testator will want to review the will. A statement in a will that it is made in contemplation of forthcoming marriage to a named person will override this. Divorce, conversely, will not revoke a will, but will have the effect that the former spouse is treated as if they had died before the testator and so will not benefit. Where a will has been accidentally destroyed, on evidence that this is the case, a copy will or draft will may be admitted to probate.

Dependent relative revocation
Many jurisdictions exercise an equitable doctrine known as dependent relative revocation. Under this doctrine, courts may disregard a revocation that was based on a mistake of law on the part of the testator as to the effect of the revocation. For example, if a testator mistakenly believes that an earlier will can be revived by the revocation of a later will, the court will ignore the later revocation if the later will comes closer to fulfilling the testator's intent than not having a will at all. The doctrine also applies when a testator executes a second, or new, will and revokes his old will under the (mistaken) belief that the new will would be valid. However, for some reason the new will is not valid and a court may apply the doctrine to reinstate and probate the old will, as the court holds that the testator would prefer the old will to intestate succession. Before applying the doctrine, courts may require (with rare exceptions) that there have been an alternative plan of disposition of the property. That is, after revoking the prior will, the testator could have made an alternative plan of disposition. Such plan would show that the testator intended the revocation to result in the property going elsewhere, rather than just being a revoked disposition. Secondly, courts require either that the testator have recited his mistake in the terms of the revoking instrument, or that the mistake be established by clear and convincing evidence. For example, when the testator made the original revocation, he must have erroneously noted that he was revoking the gift "because the intended recipient has died" or "because I will enact a new will tomorrow."

Election under the will
Also referred to as "electing to take against the will." In the United States, many states have probate statutes which permit the surviving spouse of the decedent to choose to receive a particular share of deceased spouse's estate in lieu of receiving the specified share left to him or her under the deceased spouse's will. As a simple example, under Iowa law (see Code of Iowa Section 633.238 (2005)), the deceased spouse leaves a will which expressly gifts the marital home to someone other than the surviving spouse. The surviving spouse may elect, contrary to the intent of the will, to live in the home for the remainder of her lifetime. This is called a "life estate" and terminates immediately upon the surviving spouse's death. The historical and social policy purposes of such statutes are to assure that the surviving spouse receives a statutorily set minimum amount of property from the decedent. Historically, these statutes were enacted to prevent the deceased spouse from leaving the survivor destitute, thereby shifting the burden of care to the social welfare system.

Wills in history
Some wills have unusual wishes. Charles Vance Millar's will was notorious for offering the bulk of his estate to the Toronto woman who had the greatest number of children in the ten years after his death (the Great Stork Derby). Attempts to invalidate it by his would-be heirs were unsuccessful, and the bulk of Millar's fortune eventually went to four women.

Another famous case, Estate of Kidd involved a will found on a deceased Arizona prospector who left his entire $250,000 estate "for research or some scientific proof of a soul of the human body which leaves at death. I think in time there can be a photograph of a soul leaving the human at death." The Thellusson Will Case in England where the costs involved took the major part of the estate was fictionalised by Charles Dickens as Jarndyce and Jarndyce, and led to Parliament legislating against such accumulation of money for later distribution.

Though most people are aware they need a will, as many as 66% of Americans, according to Consumer Reports, don't have one. Among the notables who died without either a valid will or no will at all are Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant, Howard Hughes, Martin Luther King, Jr., Tupac Shakur, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly, Lenny Bruce, Billie Holiday, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, Cass Elliot, Sonny Bono, Tiny Tim, Karl Marx and Pablo Picasso.

The shortest known legal will in history is that of Bimla Rishi of Delhi, India. His will, dated February 9, 1995, is written in Hindi, translating as "all to son" and consisting of just four characters. A close second is the will of Karl Tausch, whose will of January 19, 1967 is in Czech and consists solely of the phrase vše žene( "all to wife".)

Probate
Probate is the legal process of settling the estate of a deceased person, specifically resolving all claims and distributing the decedent's property under the valid will. Probate is a service that a Surrogate Court provides to confirm the validity of a deceased person's will. Once a will has been probated by the court, everyone can rely on its authenticity. Probate protects the instructions of the deceased, confirms the executor as the Personal representative of the estate, protects the interests of family members who may have claims against the estate, and protects the executor against claims and law suits.

Etymology
The etymology of "probate" stems from Latin, old French. and old English words with somewhat different meanings. The earliest definition, dated to 1463, means the "official proving of a will," and originates from the Classical Latin word probatus, meaning "a thing proved". This is the past participle of proba-re, which means "to try, test, prove" or "prove to be worthy". It also traces its roots to the old french word prouwe, dated circa 1175, or prover, and is related to the English word "prove". The term "probative," used in the law of evidence, comes from the same Latin root but has a different English usage.

Probate in the United States
In some U.S. states, after a person residing in that state has died without a valid will or trust, his or her property immediately becomes the property of the spouse, if any, without the need for probate. (This is the case in states that recognize a married couple's property as community property or as tenancy by the entireties.) However, in cases where the surviving spouse does not automatically succeed to the decedent's property, then it is usually necessary to "probate the estate", whether or not the decedent had a valid will. A court having jurisdiction of the decedent's estate (often called a "probate court") supervises probate, in order to ensure the decedent's property is distributed according to the direction of his will and the laws of the state. The will usually names an executor, a person tasked with carrying out the instructions laid out in the will. The executor's most common task is the marshalling of the decedent's assets throughout the probate process. If there is no will, or if the will does not name an executor, then the probate or other court having jurisdiction of the decedent's estate can appoint one. Traditionally, the representative of an intestate estate is called an administrator. In some cases, where the person named as executor cannot or will not be able to handle the work, or wishes to have someone else handle the work, another person will be named as administrator. Generally, an executor is a person named in the will who receives something from the proceeds of the estate in addition to following the instructions in the will, while an administrator is not named in the will to be a recipient of the proceeds of the estate. The probate court may require that the executor provide a fidelity bond, which is an insurance policy in favor of the estate to protect against the possibility of the executor mishandling the funds.

The representative of a testate estate who is someone other than the executor named in the will is an administrator with the will annexed, or administrator c.t.a. (from the Latin cum testamento annexo.) The generic term for executors or administrators is personal representative.

Steps of probate
Some of the decedent's property may never enter probate because it passes to another person contractually, such as the death proceeds of an insurance policy insuring the decedent or bank account that names a beneficiary or is owned as "payable on death", and property (usually, again, a bank account) legally held as "jointly owned with right of survivorship". Property held in a living trust also avoids probate. In these cases, the personal representative provides documentation to the court, and the property is prevented from entering probate. The first task of the personal representative after opening the probate case with the court is to inventory and collect the decedent's property. Next, the personal representative pays any debts and taxes that must be paid. Finally, the personal representative distributes the remaining property to the decedent's beneficiaries, either as instructed in the will, or per the intestacy laws of the state. Throughout this process there may be disputes. Anyone may make a claim on the estate, either by petitioning the personal representative or the court. If the claim is rejected, the claimant may file a lawsuit to attempt to prove the claim and collect money. Any dispute generally causes the court to treat the probate more formally, and it may reach the point where the court must approve every transfer of every piece of property. The personal representative must understand and abide by the fiduciary duties (e.g., duty to keep monies in interest bearing account, duty to treat all beneficiaries equally, etc.) placed on him or her. Disregard of the fiduciary duties may allow interested persons to petition for the removal of the personal representative and hold the personal representative liable for any harm to the estate.

Avoiding probate
Probate generally lasts several months, occasionally over a year before all the property can be distributed, and incur substantial court and attorney costs. One of the many ways to avoid probate is to execute a living trust. This is a separate entity to which a person transfers ownership of his real property (house, etc.,) from himself to a trust which he controls and can revise at any time (except in the case of an irrevocable trust.) Upon death, the persons named as beneficiaries in the trust acquire ownership of it and, therefore, the property the trust owns. As probate is a public process, a living trust has the added advantage of preserving the privacy of the deceased and his heirs as well as avoiding some estate tax. Life insurance, savings accounts, and joint tenancies with the right of survivorship are some of the other ways people use to avoid probate. Avoiding probate does not necessarily mean estate taxes have also been avoided. The laws imposing the federal estate tax have been modified to include within the definition of the person's taxable estate, property held in a living trust, life insurance, "payable on death" or "transfer on death" financial instruments, and most other property which is transferred from a dead person to a living person in consequence of the death. Inter vivos trusts can reduce estate taxes if they are properly structured, but that is not related to the avoidance of probate. Generally, to avoid an estate/inheritance tax, a person must give it away irrevocably or leave it to a qualified charity. However the use of credit shelter trusts (also called AB trusts) can allow a married couple to preserve both unified credits, allowing up to twice the total estate to pass to heirs without estate tax. This may reduce or eliminate the total tax the couple would have otherwise paid.

........................................

ABOUT ORANGE COUNTY WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR CLIENTS ARE:

Orange County is a county in Southern California, United States. Its county seat is Santa Ana. According to the 2000 Census, its population was 2,846,289, making it the second most populous county in the state of California, and the fifth most populous in the United States. The state of California estimates its population as of 2007 to be 3,098,121 people, dropping its rank to third, behind San Diego County. Thirty-four incorporated cities are located in Orange County; the newest is Aliso Viejo.

Unlike many other large centers of population in the United States, Orange County uses its county name as its source of identification whereas other places in the country are identified by the large city that is closest to them. This is because there is no defined center to Orange County like there is in other areas which have one distinct large city. Five Orange County cities have populations exceeding 170,000 while no cities in the county have populations surpassing 360,000. Seven of these cities are among the 200 largest cities in the United States.

Orange County is also famous as a tourist destination, as the county is home to such attractions as Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm, as well as sandy beaches for swimming and surfing, yacht harbors for sailing and pleasure boating, and extensive area devoted to parks and open space for golf, tennis, hiking, kayaking, cycling, skateboarding, and other outdoor recreation. It is at the center of Southern California's Tech Coast, with Irvine being the primary business hub.

The average price of a home in Orange County is $541,000. Orange County is the home of a vast number of major industries and service organizations. As an integral part of the second largest market in America, this highly diversified region has become a Mecca for talented individuals in virtually every field imaginable. Indeed the colorful pageant of human history continues to unfold here; for perhaps in no other place on earth is there an environment more conducive to innovative thinking, creativity and growth than this exciting, sun bathed valley stretching between the mountains and the sea in Orange County.

Orange County was Created March 11 1889, from part of Los Angeles County, and, according to tradition, so named because of the flourishing orange culture. Orange, however, was and is a commonplace name in the United States, used originally in honor of the Prince of Orange, son-in-law of King George II of England.

Incorporated: March 11, 1889 Legislative Districts: * Congressional: 38th-40th, 42nd & 43 * California Senate: 31st-33rd, 35th & 37 * California Assembly: 58th, 64th, 67th, 69th, 72nd & 74 County Seat: Santa Ana County Information: Robert E. Thomas Hall of Administration 10 Civic Center Plaza, 3rd Floor, Santa Ana 92701 Telephone: (714)834-2345 Fax: (714)834-3098 County Government Website: http://www.oc.ca.gov