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Things you should know:
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Most initial consultations are free of charge. Call to find out if the
initial consultation for your case is no charge.▪
3 Locations to make seeing a San Diego lawyer convenient: La Jolla, Rancho
Bernardo and Mission Valley.
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An Estate plan is not a will or a trust, it is a combination of instruments
together with a listing of all property and debt that enables your successor
to administer your wishes thoroughly and effectively.
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If you are married, not all property is community property. Any
property acquired before or after marriage or by gift, bequest or devise is
considered separate property under California law.
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Small businesses can eliminate self employment tax by effectively organizing
their business as a recognized California business entity. |
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San Diego Law Firm
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make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
-Winston
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Business Law, Estate Planning, Divorce and more... |
We offer a host of solutions for small
businesses and families when confronted with
troublesome legal issues. Here are some
frequently asked questions and our answers
regarding the practice areas where we focus our
expertise.
Business Law:
California Corporations and LLC's
What are some benefits that come
from setting up a California Corporation?
Setting up a California Corporation has
a number of benefits for those who
currently run small sole proprietorship
businesses or plan to establish a
business in the future, here are some of
the main benefits:
• Corporation becomes liable in the
event of a lawsuit leaving personal
assets protected.
• Small business owners can avoid
self-employment tax.
• Specific ownership interests between
co-owners can be readily ascertained.
• Additional capital for a business can
be raised by issuing stock.
• An organizational structure can be
established and maintained.
Limited Liability
Company's, or LLC's
What is the difference between a
Corporation and an LLC?
Creating an LLC gives you the benefits
of owning a corporation when it comes to
protection from liability for business
debts, judgments and other potential
business disasters while avoiding some
of the legal formalities and tax rules
required of corporations. LLC's
are a great vehicle for setting up your
small business. If you're big
enough to need a legal instrument
allowing for multiple party ownership of your
LLC, but small enough to avoid issuing
stock certificates, you should consider
this type of entity.
Estate Planning:
Wills, Trusts
What is a Living Trust?
Typically, a person who is
planning an estate thinks of drawing up
a set of instructions that will be used
after they have passed away by someone
who is trusted with following through
with the deceased person's plan.
While all estates are unique in some
way, in a typical estate plan there is a
will, a trust, a durable power of
attorney, and a healthcare
directive. A trust and will
typically address property issues where
a durable power of attorney and a
healthcare directive address issues
related to medical treatment and
decision making. When the two
types of instruments function together
correctly, families are spared the
difficulty that comes with uncertainty
in a time of crisis and emotional
upheaval.
What, then, is the difference between a
will and a trust?
When a will is drawn up, an executor,
with some supervision from the court,
actually fulfills the intent
memorialized in their will. With a
will, the executor kicks in to action
when the person who wrote the will dies
and subsequently causes title to
property to be transformed as well as
the distribution of specific personal
property.
In a trust, the person making the trust
actually transfers all of the assets to
the trust while they are still alive.
Typically, the person transferring the
property also makes themselves the
trustee for the trust until they
actually pass
away and the duty of being the trustee
transfers to an alternate trustee. Because title is still
vested in the person making the trust in
the first place, ownership of the
property never really changes until
death.
In spite of no real change in title, many benefits are realized:
• Transferring title and distributing
property becomes easy for the next
trustee because title has already
changed during the life of the deceased
person.
• Probate is not necessary because there
are no assets to administer since title
has already changed.
• The estate is spared excessive legal
fees because there is no probate
administration and no court supervised
process.
• The heirs of the deceased person have
the peace of mind that comes with not
having to get involved with cumbersome
legal maneuvering after the death of a
loved one.
• Tax planning can be done prior to
death insuring maximum use of available
tax breaks for the estate.
What then about healthcare directives
and durable powers of attorney?
Durable powers of attorney are used when
a person is incapacitated and unable to
make critical end of life decisions.
These are particularly useful when an
estate has not been planned in advance
because the holder of the durable power
of attorney can create trusts and do
some tax planning even though the person
being planned for may be disabled.
Healthcare directives, then, are just
that; an instrument that allows a person to
specify exactly what specific healthcare steps should or
should not be taken in situations where
the planner is incapacitated.
These can be highly detailed and require
doctors to follow the preordained
directions of the incapacitated party.
Divorce, Custody
and Child Support
What happens when a couple decides
to divorce?
In a mediated divorce, the
parties sit down at a conference table,
discuss all issues related to their
divorce and settle them all in a marital
settlement agreement that is then
drafted and entered in to the court.
This is the most efficient method of
dealing with a very complicated process
and is highly desirable in the face of
an alternative like a contested divorce.
In a contested divorce, the parties
appeal to the court for critical
decisions. The procedural aspects
of a contested divorce can be divided in
to two parts: The first half of a
divorce where temporary orders are made
during the waiting period and the second
half where a final order is made.
There are several considerations
when a party to a divorce files a
petition and commences the "first part".
First, a summons with automatic
restraining orders must issue and be
served on the other party. The
restraining orders apply to disposing of
real and personal property, they may
also apply in situations where domestic
violence is a part of the case.
There is a minimum 6 month "waiting
period" for a divorce in California.
During this period, one of the parties will
typically want to
make temporary orders pending the final
judgment in the divorce. These
temporary orders may contain specific
protections for property or establish
who is liable for different debts of the
couple while one or the other inhabits
the family residence. Also,
temporary child support and custody are
determined pending the final judgment.
These orders come from an order to show
cause hearing where a judge listens to
the relevant parties, makes appropriate
calculations and determines how the
parties will live during the first part
of there separate lives.
After all relevant evidence has been
produced for a judge's consideration or
the parties have decided to settle their
case, a final judgment of dissolution
can be entered and the process is over.
No matter what you read or see painted
on the sides of cars, there is no such
thing as a "fast divorce" in California
unless, in your opinion, 6 months is "fast"
and very rarely is a divorce concluded
in such a time frame.
After temporary orders are established,
the parties prepare for the trial of
contested issues and hopefully settle
issues that can be settled. Child
support and spousal support are
determined by reference to a computer
calculation and usually remain in effect
except for cases where the parties
income is substantially at issue.
Child custody issues, such as in the
case of a "move away", are prepared for
trial. Property division is also
negotiated and contested during this
period leading up to a court date where
the court resolves all remaining issues.
Entertainment Law
If I'm an entertainer, why should
I have a performance agreement for my
next performance?
As an entertainer; i.e., a
singer, songwriter, actor, magician,
etc., having a performance agreement can be almost
as important as having an act.
Here are some benefits that can come
from writing down what you and the
person requesting your services expect
from your arrangement:
• Ascertain who is responsible for
unforeseeable events like the
destruction of equipment.
• Establish what happens if there is bad
weather at an outdoor event.
• Establish the rates and specific
expectations from a performance.
• Provide alternatives if you can't
render the performance.
Real Property
What are some of the potential
hazards to look out for in real estate
transactions?
Since real property transactions involve
a series of complex issues, a broad discussion
of all potential hazards in a real estate
transaction is almost impossible. Real
property is one of the most complex areas of the
law and tremendous care should be taken before
beginning a real property transaction.
With that in mind, here are some of the more
common potential issues:
• In a residential home purchase, Buyer
fails to satisfy conditions in a purchase
contract and seller wants to retain buyers
deposit.
• Buyer obtains parcel with intent to
use it a certain way only to find out there is a
prohibition against the use in a particular city
code.
• Two property owners share a common
part of the land but one party actually owns it.
The non-owner puts a driveway on the owners land
mistakenly believing that he/she actually owns
it.
• Tenant in a business complex desires
to put up an attractive sign only the landlord
has approval of the final sign and refuses to
give his permission arbitrarily.
• Owner of parcel 1 refuses to give
owner of parcel 2 access to his land when parcel
1 affords the only access to the owner of parcel
2.
Intellectual Property
What are some ways I can protect
my intellectual property?
The US patent office is an invaluable
resource for protecting the rights of our
nation's most valuable resource; the creativity
and imagination of our inventors and business
people. Unlike any place on earth in
recent history, the development of exciting
technological ideas has helped to propel the
culture of the United States to a dominant
status among the world cultures.
Revolutions in technology, computers and pop
culture have created an excitement in our
country that has fascinated the world. The
difficulty we face in the fast paced internet
environment is finding ways to protect our ideas
from those who would use them without license.
There are several of methods of protecting
ideas. For written materials the copyright
is a most valuable tool for ensuring civil
protection and establishing liability for
trespassers. For sound and video
recordings the patent office provides a
procedure for protecting these property rights
and creating an effective barrier to
infringement of your ideas that is similar to
the copyright law. For businesses,
trademarks mean that a corporate logo or
business name can be turned in to a property
right and all of the name branding that a
business does to create goodwill and establish a
successful recognizable business in the market
place can be protected and transferred to a
subsequent owner.
Intellectual property is one of the more dynamic
areas of the law and it is always a pleasure to
help clients protect these interests.
Feel free to Contact Us and see if we can help
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