Fiduciary Services & Wealth Planning

Fiduciary Services & Wealth Planning

Fiduciary services and wealth planning involve a myriad of laws and regulations lying in wait as landmines for the unwary.  With so much regulation, the services of institutions and other private professionals can sometimes be viewed as fungible. At the same time, competitive pressures are increasing.  To be distinct in this area, the quality of personal interactions are often viewed as the distinguishing factor.

Our attorneys are adept at joining with other client advisors in this industry as teammates who help to assure high-quality experiences for those involved.  We come alongside to help avoid and resolve issues with practical and innovative insights based on many years of experience in the trenches. 

The fiduciary services and wealth planning team has routinely handled intricate plans as well as large scale projects, including the following:

• Working with multi-disciplinary teams of advisors in creating and carrying out complex, multi-generational planning involving irrevocable trusts, entities, private foundations, for serial entrepreneurs and real estate developers
• Working with banks, trust companies, private professional fiduciaries and other fiduciaries carrying out similar plans created by others
• Resolution of conflicts or potential conflicts with sensible use of judicial resources to modify trusts, to divide trusts, to combine trusts, to terminate trusts, to obtain instructions, and to obtain approvals of accountings and other actions
• Working with accountants and advisors to bring clients into compliance with tax and treasury reporting obligations with voluntary disclosure programs
• Export planning with Interest-Charge Domestic International Sales Corporation (IC-DISC), including use of IC-DISCs as a component of wealth transmission to the next generation
• Charitable Remainder Trusts combined with wealth-replacement Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts for smooth diversification for investment portfolios with highly appreciate assets
• Pre-IPO planning with near-zero grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs)
• Multi-generational planning around preservation of low property taxes for both agricultural lands as well as lands with low base values under Proposition 13
• Planning prior to moves to California and regarding exits from California for individuals, trustees, and entities
• In-bound real estate investments by non-citizens residing abroad while avoiding estate and gift taxes on US-situs property and addressing FIRPTA withholding issues