Here are some of our client success stories.
Robert and Juanita, R., Lancaster
Robert and Juanita contacted my firm to get some advice regarding an estate plan. Robert was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating disease that often leads to a care facility. Because of Robert’s disease, he is unable to say which days he will feel capable of scheduling an office visit. Instead, I visited Robert and Juanita at their home. I learned that they wanted to avoid the care facility as long as possible, including the possibility of moving in with their daughter, a nurse. Rather than an expensive trust that would allow him to qualify for Medi-Cal, we recommended a less expensive trust with robust planning powers for his agents.
Jeffrey and Lorraine G., Palmdale
Although they faced no immediate medical issues, Jeffrey and Lorraine wanted to make things easier on their children if they became incapacitated or died. They had two children together but Lorraine had a daughter from a previous relationship. Jeffrey raised this daughter from a young age but never adopted her. He wanted to make sure she was treated the same as his natural children. We created a plan that ensured she would be treated as a though she were a natural child.
Nora C., San Jose
Nora was a widow whose husband left her with a home and little else. After seeing the issues that arose from her husband’s death, she wanted to make sure she didn’t place the same burden on her children. She was very eager to get her estate plan put together in a very short period of time. In a few days, we were able to get enough information to put together her estate plan, draft the documents, and get them signed.
Kurt O., Los Angeles
Kurt wanted to leave a $20 million endowment to his alma mater. In exchange, the school would create a chair in his honor. He proposed making the endowment using a combination of existing and new insurance policies where the school would be named the beneficiary upon his death. Kurt also wanted to make sure he could spread out the charitable deduction over 10 years to minimize his income taxes prior to retirement. Using a complicated series of contracts between Kurt and the school, multiple insurance policies, an irrevocable life insurance trust, and an in-depth knowledge of U.S. tax law, I was finally able to put together a plan that could meet his goals, be approved by the school, and would get his tax results.