Some of the most shocking stipulations in wills have to do with all manner of pets inheriting an entire estate, how someone’s body will be handled after death (cremation or burial would both be too ordinary for some), and in some sad cases, children or grandchildren being “cut out of the will.”

California will preparation attorneys and estate planners have seen their fair share, but they’re not the only ones. Take Marvel comic writer Mark Gruenwald. His dying wishes were to have his cremains mixed into the dye that would be used to print a final anthology of his works, Squadron Supreme.

Another one for the books is the epic case of Leona Helmsley’s canine companion. The dog, named Trouble, was the recipient of twelve million dollars upon Helmsley’s death while several potential heirs were left scratching their heads.

And while there are many cases like these, the last our Newport Beach estate planning attorneys will list here is one that doesn’t soon leave the mind’s eye. Jeremy Bentham, a philosopher of the late 1700s and early 1800s wrote in his final will and testament that he wanted his body “preserved” and sort of just kept around. The clothed body to this day is in the confines of a glass case and the Bentham’s head has been remodeled–if you will–with a wax likeness.  From time to time the strange conglomeration of human bone and wax is carted around from one location to another.

So, no matter what your requests are, a final will and testament will protect them — and you, and unless you’re like Leona Helmsley, it will protect someone other than your Maltese! Contact us today for help with your California will preparation needs.

The trustees of the Michael Jackson estate have signed a deal with executives at Sony. Multi-million dollar deal will make the Jackson estate an estimated $250 million dollars over the course of the next seven years.

According to California estate planners and others on the inside track, the sources who leaked the details of the deal must remain anonymous, but here are the highlights:

Those in charge of the Jackson estate and the officers with whom they made the deal at Sony will be able to jointly decide when and how the King of Pop’s recordings will be used, including movies, television shows, and other entertainment purposes.

Michael’s 2009 hit song “This is It” is among the recordings that are part of the deal.

Both Sony, the trustees of the Jackson estate, and members of the Jackson family feel strongly that the appeal will not soon fade — Michael’s music airtime was off the charts when he passed away, and sales of decades-old albums spiked like never before.

Both Sony and Jackson estate officials feel that this deal could make Michael’s catalog of songs at least as successful as the Beatles and Elvis Presley. If the California estate planning experts representing the assets of the Jackson estate play their cards right, Michael’s three children will surely never want for a thing.

Estate planning attorneys all over California and the US will be interested to see how the contract between the Jackson estate and Sony plays out over the next several years. Anything less than highly lucrative will be quite a surprise!

Many times the parents and caregivers of children and other dependents with special needs are so busy that planning for the future doesn’t even seem like a realistic possibility.

If you are the caregiver of a child with autism or any other dependent in need of special care, it may be time to discuss a special needs trust with your California estate planning attorney.

A special needs trust set up by a California estate planner allows you to put liquid assets and other property away that could be worth more later and can help to pay for the cost of care in the event that the main caregiver passes away first. It’s an open trust that allows for any member of the family (or even friends) to donate to the future of the special needs child.

Karen Greenberg of Parenting the Special Needs Child notes, “Funds placed in a special needs trust are not counted as your child’s assets, and will not jeopardize these needs based entitlements.” Greenberg adds, “If the special needs trust is properly drafted, it will be considered a ‘qualified disability trust’ which has a very generous standard deduction (equivalent to a personal exemption) currently $3500 under current treasury regulations. This means that the first $3500 of investment income generated by a special needs trust will be offset and therefore not taxable. The same investment income on your tax return may be taxed at your tax rate (currently 25-28% for most tax payers).”

Newport Beach asset management attorneys can help you set up a special needs trust in California. This could be a great fit for you and your family. Investing in your future and the future of your special needs child and also saving on taxes can only be a good thing!

Any California estate planning attorney can tell you that there are many, many ways to lower your estate taxes; some are very effective for certain people while for others they are not. Below are two popular methods for lowering estate taxes that might work well for your estate.

Creating a Private Annuity: This is a great way to avoid taxation on an estate, and if this applies to you, you’ll definitely want to ask your California asset management lawyer about it. A private annuity allows the grantor of an estate (through his or her trustee) to sell any asset held within the estate to a son, daughter, or other family member of the next generation. There is something called an “unsecured promise to pay” that applies to the member of the younger generation who purchases the asset (this basically means that there don’t really need to be payments, and unless otherwise stipulated, they can be in pretty much any amount).

Setting up an FLP (Family Limited Partnership): This is a tool in the estate planning tool belt that is often underutilized. An FLP allows for the grantor (or the trustee under the guidance of the grantor) to transfer the ownership of any family business. This business may be a mom and pop partnership or a larger s-corp. The FLP will transfer the business into the name(s) of the child(ren) and in this sense it will protect any assets within the estate from creditors and undue taxation.FLPs are very flexible and allow for the estate to be taxed at the tax rate of the children, which clearly (except in wild anomalies) is far lower.

These are just two tools you’ll want to bring up when you chat with your Newport Beach estate planner. We’ll keep discussing other ways to lower your estate tax—we invite you to peruse the remainder of the Web site.

According to a recent article from SmartMoney.com, “One straightforward estate-planning tool is a simple gift, taking advantage of the annual $13,000 per person (or $26,000 per couple) gift exclusion. Some parents opt to give that gift in stock rather than cash, which lets the recipient enjoy the profit if stock prices rise. But after the 2009 surge in the market, other people may prefer to wait until death to pass along stocks that have risen sharply; with that arrangement, the recipient may be able to avoid paying taxes.”

California estate planning lawyers can help you understand and plan your gifting to avoid taxation on stocks or cash gifts. Gifting stocks may not be a bad idea in this market — while the value of stocks dropped to staggering lows across many corporations traded on the NYSE, many are on the rise in the first quarter of 2010. Given the pendulum-like nature of stocks, someone gifted stocks after your death may be able to cash them out and enjoy the liquid assets after you pass away. In the meantime, however, that is to say, before you die, gifting the stocks will allow them to continue to increase in value. This means more value for the recipient of the gift — and if you gift to a minor child, you may be able to take advantage of that increase — tax free — before your final will and testament is being read.

Newport Beach asset protection attorneys can tell you more about how gifting can work in your favor as well as that of your loved ones. If you have an interest in working gifting into your estate plan, contact your California asset management lawyer today.