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Estate Planning

Estate Planning : International and Domestic Estate Planning Law Firm

Helping You Plan for the Future

At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing we represent estate planning clients throughout the globe with convenient offices in Los Angeles, Orange County and the surrounding California counties. Our custom estate planning representation, ensure that your final wishes are honored and help you provide for your loved ones in your absence. Combining our financial planning legal, tax and accounting skills and knowledge, we are committed to helping you preserve your wealth for future generations. Estate planning is an important process that can be compassionately and effectively handled by a knowledgeable lawyer.

We help with:

  • Representing the Executor/Trustee of an Estate
  • Types of Estate Planning Services
  • Wills and Trusts
  • International Estate Planning

estate planning lawyer

The Unique Experience of a Joint California Probate Attorney and CPA

In addition to my legal credentials as an Orange County and Irvine, California, estate planning attorney, I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). With a master’s degree in taxation that is specialized in the Estate and Gift area and more than 20 years of experience, I can help educate you about estate and income tax consequences of estate planning decisions.

I offer a wide range of estate planning services, including:

  • Planning and drafting wills
  • Drafting revocable/irrevocable trusts
  • Creating generation-skipping trusts and family dynasty trusts
  • Drafting living wills and living trusts
  • Estate tax planning
  • Heirship determinations
  • Utilizing tax-exempt organizations and foundations in the estate planning process
  • Charitable gift planning
  • Business succession planning
  • Integrating retirement plans into estate planning
  • Preparation of estate and inheritance tax returns
  • Preparation of family limited partnership and limited liability company tax returns
  • Independent estate administration
  • Probate and estate administration
  • Drafting durable powers of attorney and directives to physicians
  • Guardianship and conservatorship services

Why You Should Hire a Dual Certified Estate Planning Tax Attorney and CPA

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Add the full dual-licensed tax attorney and CPA infographic to your website.

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Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #1

Confidentiality

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Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #2

Managing Liability

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Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #3

Negotiation Skills

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Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #4

Financial Expertise

Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #5

Avoiding Conflicts

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Why Hire a Dual Licensed Estate Planning Tax Attorney & CPA, Reason #6

Saving Money

California Domestic and International Estate Planning by Dual Licensed Attorneys and CPAs

Estate planning includes legal, accounting, income tax and financial planning considerations. If there is a business (or multiple businesses) involved, domestic and international estate planning can become difficult to navigate without the services of a knowledgeable and experienced professional. While it is never pleasant to think about your death, the reality is it can happen to anyone of us at any time. It is best to prepare ahead than to leave your loved ones hanging after your passing while your assets are tied up in court for years. At a minimum avoiding the expense, delay and hassle of probate that can cause up to 15% of your estate to evaporate in attorneys’ fees is easy to achieve.  On the other end of the spectrum, avoiding transfer taxes of up to 40% is another estate planning imperative.  Lastly, your estate plan help avoid power struggles and legal battles amongst your beneficiaries.

At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our skilled California Estate Planning attorneys and supporting staff of CPAs and CPA candidates have decades of experience successfully assisting our clients with wills, trusts, advanced health care directives, and other estate planning and administration matters. Because of our unique background and training as both licensed Attorneys and Certified Public Accountants, we bring a breadth and depth of knowledge to the estate planning process that no other team of legal and financial professionals can. To set up reduced rate initial consultation, call our office at (800) 681-1295 today or schedule ONLINE today.

Types of Estate Planning Our Skilled Attorneys and CPAs Can Assist You With

Estate planning involves multiple components, which needs to be customized depending on the unique set of facts and circumstances underlying your financial situation, such as the size of your estate, the number of heirs involved, and the complexity and location of your domestic and international assets, including whether foreign or offshore bank accounts are involved. The following are some of the most common ways our seasoned estate planning attorneys and supporting CPAs at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing can help you design your estate plan. Of course, we offer many other services as well, and our background as tax attorneys offers us particular expertise in how to minimize your, and your family’s exposure to the estate, transfer and associated income taxes.  Only after we thoroughly review your financial and other records, fully understand your testamentary desires and family dynamic will we be able to properly advise the best steps to take in your specific case, as each set of circumstances is unique.

Planning and Drafting Wills

One of the most common ways to begin estate planning is to complete an estate planning questionnaire and then meet with an experienced dual licensed Estate Planning Attorney and CPA like those at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing.  After we fully understand your needs and desires, we will draft a custom estate plan for you. The prototypical estate plan at a minimum includes a will with a pour over provision, a living trust that may be designed to split at the death of the first decedent, a durable power of attorney, and a medical power of attorney.

A will is a legal document where you leave detailed instructions as to the distribution of your assets and property after your death. Furthermore, a will allows you to express other wishes you may have regarding a memorial service or preferences between burial versus cremation. Most importantly, a will protects you from dying intestate, or without a will, which can lead to serious legal complications including will contests by your beneficiaries and probate. Our attorneys can help you plan on your estate and reduce those wishes to writing so that it can be easily administered without the need for probate upon your passing.

In California, the requirements to legally execute a will are that you, the testator, are at least 18 yours old and of sound mind. The will must be signed by you, someone else at your direction and in your presence, or a conservator in a court-ordered will matter. Two witnesses must also sign it at the same time it is signed by the testator or their representative. A will cannot be oral and must be in writing.

Setting Up and Administering Trusts

The living trust is often thought of as the modern replacement of the traditional will.  The trust, like a will, will contain specific instructions about how and to whom your assets are to be distributed at a certain point in time, usually upon your death or the death of a spouse. However, the significant difference between a trust and a will is that money and assets in a trust will not have to pass through the probate court system.

By avoiding the costly and time-consuming probate process, you can make things smoother for your heirs when the transition occurs and pass on more of your estate to your heirs. While estate taxes may still apply assets transferred to your beneficiaries via living trusts, if the trust is made irrevocable, meaning that you cannot alter it once it is put into effect, estate taxes can be significantly reduced by effectively removing appreciating assets from your estate through life time gifts that can be transfer tax free if you have available estate tax exemption. Creating a trust, however, is a more complicated process than simply writing a will, and you will benefit from the guidance of an experienced Trust Attorney like those at the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing. We understand all the legal nuances and complexities involved in trust creation and will ensure that the trust is established and managed according to your wishes.

We also can provide the necessary trust accounting and domestic and international tax compliance which can be very complex with a tendency to result in draconian tax and information reporting penalties if not handled correctly.  We can also provide the representation to make sure your executor or trustee administers your estate in accordance with your direction and control or via testamentary written instructions through your estate plan.

Setting Up Advanced Health Care Directives and Power of Attorney

While many people think of estate planning as having to do with things that happen upon your death, other aspects can help your wishes be followed in situations where you are still alive but not in a condition to make decisions for yourself. For example, you can set up an advanced health care directive stating that you want to receive a specific type of treatment, whether you want to be kept in a vegetative state with little to no chance of recovery, and who you want to make any health care decisions under your directive. We can also help you designate a person who will have power of attorney over your assets, property, and businesses if you become legally incapacitated before your death. Our attorneys can help you set up these directives so that they are airtight and legally binding.

Call Our Veteran California Estate Planning Dual Licensed Attorneys and CPAs Today

While estate planning is not pleasant to think about, it is one of the most important things that you will do in your life, and it will likely make a big difference in how your legacy is defined for generations to come. At the Tax Law Offices of David W. Klasing, our skilled California Estate Planning Attorneys and CPAs can bring the advantage to your estate planning stemming from the advantageous dual perspectives of a Lawyer and a CPA. We will help you explore all the possible options and make the best plan for the future of your loved ones. To set up a reduced rate initial consultation, call us today at (800) 681-1295 on schedule ONLINE here.