D. Steven Yahnian is a member of Wealth Counsel
Wealth Counsel is a nationwide collaboration of trust and estate planning attorneys and other legal, tax and business professionals. This partnership ensures that our clients get sophisticated, technically up-to-date estate plans, family business succession planning, asset protection planning and other estate and gift planning strategies. The planning techniques are peer-reviewed and the documents are comprehensive, flexible and easy-to-read.
OUR ESTATE PLANNING & ADMINISTRATION SERVICES
YAHNIAN LAW CORPORATION performs the following Estate Planning and Administration services:
Detailed Description of the Estate Planning and Administration Services we Provide:
A detailed description of our Estate planning and Administration services is set forth in the following paragraphs.
Asset Preservation Planning
Legal ways to preserve your assets. Go here to find out more about this topic and how to protect your assets.
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Business Succession Planning
Yahnian Law Corporation has been substantially involved in the counseling, planning and design of Business Succession strategies and plans over the years. These services involve the following:
Complete explanation of common succession techniques - Review, analysis, plan, design, documentation and implementation of succession plans
- Using succession plan to achieve your business and tax goals
- Drafting and using buy-sell agreements
- Succession plans for professional practices
- Managing difficult family issues
- Planning and Management of third party employee and manager issues
- Use of Closely held and Family Entities such as Family Limited Partnerships, LLCs and Corporations
- Integration of trusts and other entities to achieve business succession
- Integration of creative compensation planning
- Wills and Trusts forms for combining business succession plan and client's estate plan
- Business valuation methods and protocols; how to select an appraiser
- Valuation Discounts
- Management Succession
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Charitable Gift Planning
We design and prepare planned giving programs, and advise charities and donors regarding the tax and other benefits of such programs.
Particular emphasis is given to advising clients regarding the income tax aspects of charitable contributions as well as the creation and implementation of charitable remainder trusts and pooled income funds.
We also assist clients regarding valuation issues and the implementation of private foundations as a vehicle for effecting charitable gifts.
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Elder Law and Medi-Cal Planning
Our Elder Law and Medi-Cal Planning services
- Government benefits and resources
- Planning to stay at home
- Long-term care insurance
- Financial management and health care decisionmaking
- Medi-Cal
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Estate Planning
Steve Yahnian is one of a limited number of lawyers statewide who has been designated a Certified Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate law specialist by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
We prepare estate plans of all kinds and complexity, and for all sizes of estates. We incorporate into the planning considerations of our clients' estates income tax, estate and gift tax, generation-skipping transfer tax, charitable trusts, life insurance, pension law, property tax, and the potential future need for long-term nursing or custodial care.
Particular emphasis is given to tax planning for family wealth transfers, including the creation of intra-family gift programs involving outright gifts, gifts of stock in family corporations, the creation and implementation of family partnerships and grantor annuity and income trusts.
In Summary, Yahnian Law Corporation provides the following Estate Planning services:
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Wills;
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Living Trusts;
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Life Insurance Trusts;
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Family Limited Partnerships and other Entities;
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Family Foundations;
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Charitable Remainder Trusts;
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Powers of Attorney;
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Health Care Planning;
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Retirement Plan Strategies and Optimization;
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GRATs
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Qualified Personal Residence Trusts
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Intentionally defective grantor trusts
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Long Term Care Planning
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Nonprobate and nontrust transfers
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Taxing income of estates and trusts
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Income tax basis and real property tax
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Marital deduction planning
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Valuation planning strategies and freeze techniques
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Life insurance
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Annuities,
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Employee benefits and IRAs
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Charitable giving and asset protection
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Health care decisions and Medi-Cal planning
Estate Planning for Special Assets
- Succession planning for the family business
- Vineyards, farms, and ranches
- Business entity valuation planning strategies
- Vacation homes
- Companion animals/pets
- Disposition of a professional practice
- California residents with out-of-state property
- Charitable giving of works of art and other collectibles
- Patents and copyrights
- Restricted securities and compensatory stock
Estate Planning for Farmers, Dairymen and Ranchers
Economic Aspects of Farm Estate and Tax Planning - Preparation for Planning
- Joint Tenancies and Spousal Partnerships
- Interspousal Property-Holding During Lifetime and Succession at Death
- Applications of Trusts
- Gift Planning
- Partnerships and Limited Liability Companies
- The Farm Corporation
Multiple Entities - Installment Sales and Private Annuities,
- Leases,
- Family Loans,
- Like-Kind Exchanges
- Life Insurance
- Retirement Planning for Farmers and Ranchers
- Valuation of Intangible Property
- Valuation of Real and tangible Personal Property
- Special Use Valuation
- Deferred Payment of Estate Taxes
- The Special Use Value Recapture Tax
- Family-Owned Business Interest
- Post-Mortem Income Tax Planning for Farmers
- Post-Mortem Estate Tax Planning
- Planning for Multistate Farm Property
- Estate Planning for the Financially Distressed Farmer
- Farm Specific Accounting and Reporting Rules
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Estate and Gift Tax Returns
We represent personal representatives, trustees, beneficiaries and heirs in audits by the Internal Revenue Service or Franchise Tax Board regarding estate tax returns. We prepare or, where requested, assist accountants in the preparation of federal and California estate tax returns, gift tax returns, fiduciary tax returns and final federal income tax returns of the decedent.
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Living Trusts
Yahnian Law Corporation provides complete and comprehensive Living Trust planning, design, preparation and implementation services. Those services include the following:
Complete preparation including Pourover wills, powers of attorney, funding, beneficiary designations for retirement plans, annuities and life insurance and letter of instructions for operating the trust - Managing property during client's lifetime
- Transferring property at death
- Drafting and tax considerations
- Creation of trust, distribution provisions
- Marital deduction QTIPs and QDOTs
- Survivor's trust, bypass and disclaimer trusts
- Payment of taxes, debts, and administration expenses
- Trustee powers and duties
- Revocation and amendment
- Funding the trust and related documents
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Powers of Attorney and Health Care Directives
- Assisting clients with medical decisions, including do not resuscitate orders, organ donation, and end-of-life decisions
- HIPAA and CMIA
- Using power of attorney for estate planning decisions when the principal loses capacity
- Alternatives to using power of attorney and advanced health care directives, and ethical obligations of the attorney in drafting documents and enforcing their terms, including judicial proceedings
- Reverse mortgages
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Probate Administration
We represent fiduciaries in the administration of estates.
Our practice includes petitioning for appointment of personal representatives in estates, preparing and evaluating inventory and appraisements, monitoring the creditors' claim process, petitioning for instructions regarding interpretation of wills or for instructions regarding actions to be taken by the personal representative, and petitioning for preliminary and final distributions.
We also advise personal representatives regarding their fiduciary duties, the sale of assets in the estates, and the preparation of accountings and reports.
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Special Needs Trusts: Planning, Drafting, and Administration
- Public benefits primer including SSI, Medicaid, Medicare, VA, Section 8, and more
- Establishing Medicare set-aside trusts
- Required and recommended first and third-party SNT provisions
- Considering SNT alternatives
- Pooled SNTs with a full description of every California pooled trust
- SNT administration and appropriate distributions
- SNT taxation, accounting, termination, purchase of a home, and hiring of caregivers
- Third-party SNTs
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Summary Estate Procedures
We represent beneficiaries and heirs in obtaining assets that may be passed by a summary probate procedure. We prepare and record affidavits of death of joint tenant for the passage of joint tenancy assets to the surviving joint tenant. We prepare affidavits for the passage of personal property under $100,000. We prepare affidavits for the passage of real property under $10,000. Our practice also includes petitioning to the court for determination of succession of real and personal property if the property is valued under $100,000 and petitioning for the determination and confirmation of property passing or belonging to the surviving spouse. We also assist in the transfer and distribution of assets under the summary probate procedures.
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Trust Administration
In addition to estate planning activities in drafting a trust instrument, we also represent trustees and beneficiaries in administration of trusts.
Our practice includes petitioning for transfer of assets into the trust after the death of the trustor in the event title was incorrectly cleared, funding subtrusts, petitioning for instructions regarding the interpretation or modification of trusts, monitoring the creditors' claim process, petitioning for instructions regarding actions to be taken by the trustee, petitioning for termination of trusts, and petitioning for resignation of trustees and for the appointment of successor trustees.
We also advise trustees regarding their fiduciary duties, the sale or distribution of trust assets, and the preparation of accountings and reports.
- Trustee’s duties, standards, and powers
- Rejection of trust; resignation and removal of trustee
- Investments and management of trust assets
- Recordkeeping and accounting
- Trustee compensation and attorney fees
- Creditor’s rights against trust and beneficiaries
- Income taxation of trusts and estate tax returns
- Administering single-person trust after settlor’s death
- Administering the married couple trust after the death of each spouse
- Subtrust funding and long-term administration
- Modification, revocation, and termination of trust
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Wills
- Review of existing wills
- Preparation of wills and codicils
- Gifts to charity and noncharitable gifts
- Charitable split-interest trusts
- Powers of appointment
- Marital deduction QTIPs and QDOTs
- Bypass trusts and disclaimer trusts
- Trusts for children
- Tax payment and “spendthrift” clauses
- Powers and duties of executor and trustee
- Disinheritance
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You can reach us by calling (559) 733-8505