San Francisco Bay Area Estate Planning Resource Center

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Tierney, Watson & Healy Newsletter

For your convenience we have archived our monthly estate planning newsletter.

• Generational Generosity (Feb 12)
  Would you prefer to transfer more wealth to your family instead of the IRS? Our first article summarizes the relevant lifetime gifting rules and considers two common do-it-yourself transfer methods.
• Five Estate Blunders (Jan 12)
  Proper estate planning is not just for the rich and famous. Surprisingly, however, that is a common misconception. Every adult American has an estate worth planning, regardless of their net worth. In this article we review some critical concerns and plans.
• Family Limited Partnerships (Dec 11)
  Family Limited Partnerships offer many benefits, both tax and non-tax. Our first article is a primer that explores why they are at once a taxpayer favorite ... and a potential target of the IRS and some courts.
• Seasonal Solutions (Nov 11)
  To everything there is a season. So it is with your Life & Estate Plan. Our first article uses a Seasons of Life theme to illustrate how your Life & Estate Plan may change with your personal and financial circumstances over your lifetime.
• Cohabitation Complexities (Oct 11)
  Like their married counterparts, unmarried cohabitants need to make appropriate Life & Estate Plans to avoid especially unpleasant and expensive surprises. Our first article reviews common challenges in the context of some real-life scenarios.
• Marital Matters (Sept 11)
  This month we focus on making proper estate plans to avoid common legal and financial challenges in your marriage. Meeting these challenges will help you honor the vows you made on your wedding day to care for one another.
• Admirable Administration (Aug 11)
  Have you appointed trusted family members, friends or professionals to serve as the fiduciaries of your estate plan upon your death? If so, our first article is a must-read as we review some of the responsibilities (and liabilities) they will face.
• Blended Family Basics (July 11)
  Is yours a blended family? If yes, then you face unique inheritance challenges, to include disinheriting your ex-spouse, providing for your new spouse and your own children, and protecting their inheritance. Keep this newsletter (and share it with others).
• Women: Law & Money (Jun 11)
  Are you a woman or do you know someone who is? If so, then you will want to read and share this issue of our newsletter. The first article reviews some important Estate Essentials and Money Matters every woman should address without delay.
• Elder Law Elements (May 11)
  Good news, bad news. The good news: Americans are living longer than ever. The bad news: we eventually wear out physically, mentally or both. In this issue we review two challenges: becoming incapacitated and going broke due to long-term care
• Tomorrowitis (April 11)
  Why doesn’t everyone have their final affairs in order, especially in light of the likelihood of incapacity and the certainty of death? Our lead article in this issue takes aim at the chief culprit: Tomorrowitis.
• Solo Solutions (March 11)
  Singles comprise nearly half of the adult American population. Whether never married, widowed or divorced, single adults face unique Life & Estate Planning issues. In this issue of our newsletter we focus on the challenges from a singular perspective.
• Special Needs Trusts (February 11)
  Caring for a family member with special needs can be difficult enough, without losing government assistance. Our lead article reviews common mistakes, and a government-approved strategy to maximize support for the person with special needs.
• Joint Tenancy Troubles (January 11)
  Have you ever heard of Joint Tenancy? This form of property ownership can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the circumstances (outside of your control). Read our lead article to learn the good, the bad and the ugly of this common form of ownership.
• Revocable Living Trusts (December 10)
  Revocable Living Trusts are popular estate planning tools, especially when probate avoidance is an objective. Our lead article reviews how they work, their benefits and drawbacks, and some of the important matters to consider in their creation.
• Are You Ready? (November 10)
  In this article we focus on getting (and keeping) your legal affairs in order. Whether you have a comprehensive estate plan or intend to create one soon, the goal is to make sure that everyone and everything is okay, even if you are not.

Learn More About California Estate Planning
with These Interactive Programs

• Business Owner Blues
  Being a business owner today is both rewarding and challenging, especially if your business is a family business. For business owners facing the unique challenge of transferring ownership of the family business upon retirement, disability or death, a properly funded Buy-Sell Agreement may be the key to survival.
• Common Estate Blunders
  When you hear the words estate planning, what images come to mind? Do you see beautiful, tanned people with incredible wealth, living in enormous mansions, riding in shiny limousines and boarding private jets? If so, then you are only partially correct. In reality, everyone has an estate worth planning. Some are just more complex than others.
• Estate Planning Challenges for Blended (or Step) Families
  Are you re-married (or planning to re-marry) and attempting to blend families? Unfortunately, too little attention has been paid to the critical Life & Estate Planning challenges of blended families. These challenges include disinheriting your ex-spouse, protecting your own children, providing for your new spouse and minimizing your estate taxes.
• Planning for Minor Children
  It is an unfortunate fact of life: airplanes plummet, trains derail, ships sink and automobiles crash. What happens when a tragedy claims both parents of minor children? While every parent expects to rear their minor children to adulthood, life may throw any of us an unexpected curve ball in the form of a fatal injury or illness. Are you, and your children, prepared?
• Women & the Law
  Traditionally, women have been the nurturers in our society. Depending on how family is defined for her, a woman may care for a husband, children, pets, parents or even in-laws. While she is busy meeting the needs of others, a woman may forget to take care of her own needs ... even needs as fundamental as her own Life & Estate Planning.

More Reading for California Business Owners

• Using the Bankruptcy Code to Handle Tax Debts and Stop IRS Collectors
• Choosing Your Record-Keeping System
• Deductions Your Small Business Shouldn't Miss
• Fastest Way to Tax Deduct Your New Computer
• Getting Audited? Can't Find All Of Your Records? No Problem
• Getting Tax Benefits From Bad Debts
• IRS Penalties Mostly Likely to Affect Small Businesses
• Keeping Records Of Employees Is Not So Easy
• Small Business Tax Benefits: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Tax Auditor
• Successfully Dealing With The IRS For Small Business Tax Debts
• Tax Aspects of Selling a Business
• Tax Angles and Pitfalls of Buying a Business
• Tax Benefits: The Big Four
• The Top Ten Most Frequently Asked Small Business Questions (1 of 3)
• There's Nothing Like Being Your Own Boss, Except…
• What Do I Need to Know About How Is My Partnership Taxed?
• Where Do You Go When You Have Outgrown the Sole Proprietorship?
• Why You Should Care About Your Record-Keeping