Recent Blog Posts

9 Estate Planning Success Tips

Singh Law Firm — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:05:00 GMT

Keep your will or trust up to date. Keep your legal residence address, marriage status, children, guardian list, etc. updated.
Keep track of beneficiariesfor all of your IRAs, qualified plans and insurance policies. Do you know who your beneficiaries are for these assets? If you don't, they may be going to someone you no longer wish to receive them. You can easily change the name of the person who will receive their benefits by filling out a form.
Maximize the liquidity of your estate. Liquidity is defined as the ability to quickly turn assets into cash. Without sufficient cash to pay taxes, funeral, and other expenses, your family may have to sell illiquid assets - such as a family business or other property - at an inopportune time. Avoid putting your family in the position of selling off the estate in a hurry by providing for sufficient liquidity.
Maintain an Appropriate Mix of Investment Risk. It's detrimental to have too much money allocated to risk in stocks or mutual funds, as a percentage of total cash assets and age. Over time, more risky investments should be moved into safe and stable investments such as Annuities.
Name a dependable executor and/or trustee. Executors are called upon to collect assets, pay obligations, and distribute your assets. Your trustee must enforce all the provisions of any trusts you created. Choose people who have the knowledge, integrity and stamina in the face of pressure from family members to fulfil these obligations.
If you have minor children, consider naming one guardian for your minor children and a separate guardian for the property you've left to support them. The best guardian for your children may not be the most effective money manager you know. Just be aware that the person you've chosen as guardian of your children, can be a different person than the guardian that manages your children's property.
Estate planning for your spouse or other sole survivor scenarios. If your net worth is high enough, your estate may be subject to taxes. A simple estate plan can save some individuals hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes.
Leaving the right assets to the right people. If your child was a "special needs" child, you would not leave him money to handle on his own. Make sure your teenager or other dependents, receive much needed management along with the cash.
Plan, Plan, Plan. The future is in your control. Decisions you make about how you structure your estate will affect your family. Until you've taken action, you don't have an estate plan, but don't be overwhelmed. Nothing is irreversible, and you can take small steps to put your plan into place. Planning is most important for business owners, who must plan for the succession and/or buy-out of their business.

If you have any questions, contact The Singh Law Firm, Fremont, California Estate Planning Attorneys. We are more than happy to discuss all the Estate Planning options available to you.

What is Probate?

Singh Law Firm — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 19:32:00 GMT

What is Probate?

If a person executes only a will or fails create Estate Planning documents, then at their death their estate will be subject to probate. Probate is a court procedure that oversees payment of debts and transfer of assets following an individual’s death.

Probate is an option you do not want to take because of the costs and delays associated with the it. Probate fees (payable to the attorney and the executor) are set by statute. They are based on the gross fair market value of the estate, not on the complexity of the case. Further there are additional fees if the attorney or executor prepares or files tax returns, sells real estate, or does other extraordinary work on behalf of the estate. Also, the probate process takes a lot of time, generally lasting between nine months and two years from a decedent’s death.

Statutory Probate Fees

Size of Estate	Total Compensation
$0	4% of amount
$100,000	$4,000 + 3% of amount above $100,000
$200,000	$7,000 + 2% of amount above $200,000
$1 million	$23,000 + 1% of amount above $1 million
$10 million	$113,000 + ½% of amount above $10 million
$25 million	$188,000 + reasonable amount

Probate costs include filing fees, newspaper publication fees, costs for certified copies, and probate referees (appraisers), and can easily exceed $1,000.

In most cases, there is no probate if a person dies and leaves his assets to his surviving spouse. Therefore, the pitfalls of probate occur at the death of a single person (including the death of a now-single surviving spouse), when the assets pass to his children or other heirs.

In addition to trust assets, certain other types of assets are not typically subject to probate because, under California law, the assets automatically are transferred to the designated beneficiary on the account. These types of assets include:

Joint Tenancy – Assets are distributed to the surviving joint tenant
Community Property – Assets are distributed to the surviving spouse
Beneficiary Designation – Assets are distributed to the named beneficiary
- Life Insurance
- Retirement Accounts
- Annuities
- Other beneficiary designated accounts
Social Security Benefits – Benefits are distributed according to law and cannot be changed by designation

Although probate can be avoided by adding a joint tenant to your assets, there may be unintended income or gift tax consequences associated with the addition. It is always advisable to speak with an attorney before changing the title or beneficiary to your assets.

If you have any questions, contact The Singh Law Firm, Fremont, California Estate Planning Attorneys. We are more than happy to discuss all the Estate Planning options available to you.

529 Plans & Estate Planning

The Singh Law Firm — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 21:12:00 GMT

Estate Planning with 529 Plans

Not only are 529 plans an excellent way to fund a child's future college expenses, but 529 college savings plans are also an important estate planningtool. In fact, for wealthier families, a 529 plan offers excellent opportunities to transfer wealth as part of your overall estate plans.

529 Plan Rules

Today, all 50 states and the District of Columbia offer 529 college savings plans. Also known as qualified tuition programs, these are tax-advantaged investment opportunities operated by the state's treasury office. One of the most appealing features of these 529 plans is that you don't even need to live in a particular state, or send the beneficiary of the plan to college in that state, to participate in a state's program.

In fact, the competition among states has led to extremely generous contribution limits, which is very good news for estate planners. These types of plans are also very simple when it comes to investment options. With contributions being pooled and managed in one of just a couple of ways: age-based portfolios or what are called fixed portfolios.

Estate Planning

So what exactly are the features of these 529 college savings plans that are so attractive from an estate planning perspective? Unlike education IRAs, there are no income limits that restrict, or prohibit, an investor from fully contributing to a plan. That means virtually everyone qualifies as an accountholder for a 529 plan. But there's even more good news.

Tax Free Gifts

Another nice feature of 529 plans is their ability to allow wealthy individuals to reduce their estate tax bill by taking advantage of a $13,000 annual tax-free gift contribution. For married couples, you can contribute up to $26,000 for each beneficiary in a single year without federal gift tax consequences.

If you're trying to catch up, or simply accelerate the reduction in the size of your estate, you can also fund five years worth of gifts by contributing up to $65,000 ($130,000 for married couples) in the first of a five-year period. Contributions of this size can go a long way in reducing the size of your estate, and therefore eliminating or minimizing estate taxes.

For more information regarding Estate Planning or how 529 Plans benefit your estate plan, please call The Singh Law Firm, a boutique Estate Planning Law Firm based in the Bay Area.

Simple Ways to Avoid Paying Extra to Uncle Sam

The Singh Law Firm — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 21:00:00 GMT

Historically, in 2009 the Estate Tax exemption was $3.5 million per person and anything above that amount was taxed at 45%. President Obama signed the Tax Relief Act into law on December 17, 2010, which sets theestate tax exemption is $5,000,000 per person and any amount above $5,000,000 is taxed at 35%. Come 2013, the estate tax exception is set to revert back to 2001 and 2002 levels of $1,000,000 per person and any amount above that will be taxed at 55%.

You can reduce your exposure today!

Maximize Annual Gifts

Anyone can give cash or assets valued up to $13,000 a year to anyone else without it counting against the $1 million limit on lifetime gifts. Married couples can combine their yearly gifts to give away up to $26,000 to as many people as they like. For instance, a husband and wife may give their married daughter who has two children $26,000 per person, totalling $104,000 per year to reduce their estate.

Pay Tuitionand Medical Expenses

Without using your $13,000 annual exclusion, you can pay for tuition, medical, and dental expenses for anyone you want. Be cautioned however, that the payment for such expenses must be made directly to the providers of those services. You cannot simply reimburse the people who you are benefiting.

Some people do not realize that you can pick up some big ticket expenses such as health insurance premiums, medically necessary home improvements, or home care professionals.

If you have any questions, contact The Singh Law Firm, Fremont, California Estate Planning Attorneys, as there are other more advanced and permissible products which also reduce your exposure.

Be Smart, Create an Estate Plan!

The Singh Law Firm — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:27:00 GMT

Unfortunately, no one has a crystal ball to predict the future or if and when someone will become mentally incapacitated or when someone will die.If you do not have an estate plan, then you and your property will end up in a court-supervised probate, guardianship or conservatorship proceeding. Thus, if you do not have an estate plan, then there is no way for your loved ones to know what you really wanted and your property may be distributed to those you did not intend as beneficiaries. Be smart - make an estate plan, or update your old and outdated estate plan, to protect you and your loved ones.

If you need an estate plan created for you, or you need to update your existing estate plan, please call an Estate Planning Attorney with The Singh Law Firm.

Welcome to our Fremont Estate Planning Blog

The Singh Law Firm — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:03:00 GMT

Our lawyers are pleased to announce the launch of our Fremont estate planning blog,