Wealth Management, Probate & Asset Protection
The Wealth Management, Probate & Asset Protection Practice Group at GRSM helps clients augment, preserve, administer and transfer wealth. We value lasting relationships with our clients to serve their changing needs over time, and strive to provide straightforward advice and excellent services each time we are called upon. We help clients plan to eliminate or reduce taxes and to avoid court intervention in their affairs. When court intervention is required, we represent clients in the administration of probate estates, guardianships, conservatorships and trust actions.
Wealth Management
After we understand a client's situation and objectives, we explain available planning options in a way that empowers our clients to make informed decisions. Some of the tools we use to complete an estate plan include Wills, Living Trusts, Financial and Healthcare Powers of Attorney, Deeds to transfer assets into Trust, Property Agreements, Insurance Trusts, Lifetime Giving Trusts, Personal Residence Trusts, Family Limited Liability Companies, Family Limited Partnerships and Private Foundations. We are experienced in advising clients about life insurance, methods of providing for a child's education, charitable planning, the succession of a family business, planning for distribution of IRAs or pension benefits, and coordinating estate plans among multiple generations. The Group takes pride in thorough, creative planning that helps solve family problems.
Trusts
Part of our desire to form lasting relationships with clients is to help them properly establish and administer trusts. We advise Trustees about their duties and beneficiaries about their rights. We assist in the tactical decisions to be made in dividing assets into subtrusts upon a client's death. Trusts are often of long term benefit to a family, and proper administration of a Trust over time helps prevent problems. When necessary or beneficial to our clients, we are experienced in obtaining court ordered trust modifications or instructions on specific issues in trust administration.
Probate
When planning, one of our goals is to help clients avoid court intervention, but sometimes a court proceeding is unavoidable. We are experienced in representing executors, trustees and others before the probate court in probate estates, conservatorships, guardianships and trust actions. We work with litigators in the firm to handle disputed probate proceedings, including beneficiary disputes, will contests, Trustee accounting and surcharge proceedings and the like.
Tax
Our tax group includes a partner who is a Certified Taxation Specialist by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. We provide expert advice to both domestic and international individuals and businesses. We provide counsel concerning all aspects of U.S. taxation, including corporate transactions, mergers and acquisitions, U.S. taxation of multinational corporations, partnership taxation, real estate taxation, taxation of financial transactions and federal tax issues faced by specialized entities.