East Bay Estate PLanning Lawyers

Estate Planning Attorneys in Oakland

Probate, Wills & Trusts, Business Succession, Retirement & Charitable Planning

Estate Planning

An estate plan organizes an individual’s personal, legal and financial affairs into a detailed blueprint prior to the death or incapacity of the individual. This blueprint is intended to direct, and to serve as a guide for, the deceased or incapacitated individual’s affairs. At a minimum, an estate plan should include a will, a durable power of attorney for finances, an advanced directive (a “living will”) and typically, a living trust (also known as a revocable living trust or revocable trust).

Planning for Incapacity

A comprehensive estate plan takes into consideration the possibility of a client's subsequent incapacity. Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney and Advance Medical Directives serve to protect our clients against subsequent incapacity. We have significant experience in the area of planning for incapacity and representation in conservatorship matters. 

We also prepare and administer Special Needs Trusts, which are trusts that are designed to ensure continued eligibility for government benefits for a disabled or incapacitated beneficiary.  We are available to receive referrals from personal injury, medical malpractice, and worker's compensation attorneys whose clients have suffered serious and life altering injuries, and need a Special Needs Trust in order to prevent a settlement or verdict on an injury lawsuit from jeopardizing their eligibility for Medi-Cal or Social Security Disability benefits.

Business Succession Planning

Our attorneys are frequently consulted regarding the succession of a closely held or family business.  Succession of a family business to a succeeding generation requires consideration of many issues, including the maintenance and structure of the business after incapacity or death; who will succeed to the family business; how, when and in what manner those family members will receive the interest in the business; and what assets passive family members may receive in lieu of an interest in the business.  Protection must also be incorporated into the plan against subsequent voluntary or involuntary transfers of business interests to third parties.  Contentious family disagreements can arise which can jeopardize the survival of the business, and family harmony is an important consideration in any business succession plan.

Whether the business is to be transferred to succeeding generations, or to parties outside of the family, our estate planning attorneys can help you in formulating tax saving strategies for the sale or transfer of your business, using Buy/Sell Agreements and advanced planning techniques such as gifts of fractionalized interests, including Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs) and sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs). 

Retirement Planning

A critical but often overlooked aspect of estate planning involves careful coordination of beneficiary designations to retirement plans.  Certain retirement plans enjoy special income tax treatment in that plan assets are allowed to grow on a tax deferred basis, sometimes called "tax-deferred compounding."  The longer the growth period, the more valuable the plan assets will be compared to similar assets that are not allowed to benefit from tax-deferred compounding.  Naming a beneficiary who is significantly younger than you offers longer tax-deferred compounding inside the retirement account, because under Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules, the law requires an amount to be withdrawn from the account each year based on the life expectancy of the beneficiary; the younger the beneficiary, the longer the "stretch out" of RMDs.

Under some circumstances it is not advisable to name an heir directly as beneficiary of a retirement plan, such as when the heir is a minor or does not handle money well.  In these circumstances, it is advantageous to name a "Conduit Trust" as beneficiary; these special trusts must comply with numerous technical requirements to ensure the trust is recognized as having the individual heir's life expectancy, but this trust allows for minimal tax effect and maximum growth of the trust assets.  These trusts also provide protection against creditors and lawsuits, and offer protection in the event of a divorce as the assets in the trust are considered separate and not community property. 

Charitable Planning

We assist our clients in developing and refining their charitable goals.  We utilize charitable trusts such as charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts to obtain favorable tax treatment while furthering our clients' charitable objectives. 

Seek Experienced Representation

For further information on estate planning issues, contact The Law Offices of Patrick Z. Riley.  Attorney Riley exclusively practices in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust law and is a Certified Specialist by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization in these areas.  Call us at (510)291-4594 or contact us online today.