Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Administration

It's About Family and Your Peace of Mind

Proper Estate Planning Should Ensure . . .

    Your Peace of Mind in knowing that . . .

If a serious illness were to strike you leaving you unable to make your own health care decisions that those you want to make those decisions for you have a clear understanding of your desires and the legal authority to carry out your wishes;

If long-term care is required that you will have sufficient resources to provide for your care without impoverishing your spouse and exhausting the inheritance that you wanted to leave to your family;

Those individuals you have personally chosen to act when you pass away have clear instructions and the proper legal authority to carry out your plan;

The property you have worked throughout your life to save and manage will continue to bless the lives of your family or other beneficiaries that you have chosen;

The property you choose to leave to your beneficiaries will not be squandered due to immaturity or lost to predators and creditors through lawsuits and divorce proceedings;

Charitable causes that you care about will receive the assistance that you choose to give and that those donated resources will be properly managed;

Your plan will shorten the time required to administer your estate and will reduce the impact of lifetime gift and death taxes, professional fees and other administrative expenses leaving a greater legacy to your intended beneficiaries.

Achieving Your Peace of Mind is Our Mission and Expertise

Perkins, Mann & Everett provides comprehensive, tax-sensitive estate planning, probate administration and litigation, and trust and estate administration services for clients located throughout Central California.  We carefully craft comprehensive estate plans that accomplish the goals of our clients while minimizing their tax implications.

Estate Planning

We recognize that every client's situation is unique and we prepare every client's estate planning documents accordingly.  Our areas of representation include:

• Wills
• Revocable and Irrevocable Trusts
• Gift, Estate, and Generation Skipping Transfer Tax Planning
• Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)
• Special Needs Trusts
• Qualified Domestic Trusts for non-citizen spouses (QDOTs)
• Qualified Personal Residence Trusts (QPRTs)
• Financial Powers of Attorney
• Advance Health Care Directives

Business Succession Planning/Planning for Farms and Agricultural Properties

Our attorneys are frequently brought into the planning process when a family business or farm is being sold or when a family member is retiring from the business and wants to explore business succession planning options. We formulate tax savings strategies for the sale of a business, including Buy/Sell or Stock Purchase Agreements and utilizing advanced planning techniques such as gifts of fractionalized interests, including sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs). 

Charitable Planning

If you have charitable inclinations, or if you are contemplating the sale of an asset with a relatively low cost basis, and would like to minimize the capital gains tax consequences of the sale, our attorneys can advise you and assist you with the preparation of a Private Foundation, Charitable Lead Trust (CLT), or a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT).  We also counsel clients regarding charitable gifts to Public Charities and Community Foundations.

Asset Protection and Wealth Preservation Planning

High net-worth individuals often face an increased risk of exposure to litigation, especially in our increasingly litigious society.  We can advise you on advanced asset protection planning and wealth preservation strategies including the use of corporate entities, Dynasty Trusts and irrevocable trusts, Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs), and Limited Liability Companies (LLCs). 

Probate and Probate Litigation

Our attorneys have extensive experience in the area of probate administration, and have handled estates of all sizes and complexities, ranging from simple estates to large estates comprised of large holdings in real estate, business interests, and assets located in more than one state.

We also represent clients in conservatorship and guardianship proceedings and in contested probate matters.

Trust Administration and Trust and Estate Litigation

Perkins, Mann & Everett has significant experience in the area of trust administration, including the settlement of complex estate matters, post-mortem income tax planning, and the use of disclaimers.  Our attorneys also provide experienced representation of trustees or beneficiaries of trusts in trust and estate litigation, including contests, lawsuits concerning the interpretation of estate planning documents, trust termination proceedings, disputes over accountings and trustee removal proceedings.

Long-Term Care Planning and Medi-Cal Asset Preservation Planning

Long-term care expenses can quickly impoverish the spouse of an individual who needs assistance with activities of daily living such as dressing, eating, bathing, toileting, walking. Medicare and Medicare supplement insurance provide only limited benefits for long-term care at home or in a nursing home. In California Medi-Cal is the only public entitlement program available to pay for long-term care expenses. Our attorneys can assist you in evaluating long-term care issues including long-term care insurance policies, Medi-Cal eligibility and estate recovery issues.