Articles

Clients, friends and colleagues often ask me "how often should I update my estate plan?" Estate planning attorneys commonly recommend that you review your estate plan documents - i.e., your will, revocable "living" trusts, power of attorney for financial matters, and advance health care directives - at least every five years.

High property values in California highlight the need for careful property tax planning. If you have owned your property for many years, it is likely that your property's assessed value for property tax purposes is significantly lower than today's fair market value. If your property should be reassessed, you or your family members could be faced with a significant increase in the annual property tax.

When most people hear about elder abuse, they think of cruel or apathetic caregivers leaving elderly family and friends unattended or physically abusing them. But elder abuse is more than physical abuse: when someone takes any property - including real estate, cash, or any other asset or interest - from a person over the age of 65 by fraud or undue influence, it constitutes financial elder abuse.

The Federal Government assesses a tax on assets that are gratuitously transferred to another person. Assets transferred during the donor's lifetime are subject to gift tax.

Investment assets acquired from a decedent receive a new income tax basis equal to their fair market[..]

Tax-deferred exchanges of commercial or investment real property are a common strategy for real estate owners. Federal courts have taken a pro-taxpayer approach in allowing taxpayers to structure these exchanges. California has not until recently.