Estate Planning

We will facilitate your wishes, maximize your tax benefits, and ensure your peace of mind. 

All individuals and families, regardless of their assets, will benefit from a carefully planned and drafted estate plan. 

The Kelly Firm understands that every client has unique economic, family, and personal goals so we counsel, advise, explain, and recommend specific estate planning tools to achieve your objectives. Our mastery of the law is tailored to your individual goals and circumstances so each estate plan preserves the legal rights and interests of each client.  

With a proper estate plan an individual can: 

  • Provide for his or her health care

  • Plan for property management needs in the event of incapacity

  • Control the disposition of his or her assets upon death

  • Facilitate estate and trust administration

  • Minimize transfer taxes (gift tax, estate tax, generation-skipping transfer tax)

  • An estate plan generally consists of the following legal documents:

  • Revocable Trust

  • Pour-over Will(s)

  • General Durable Power(s) of Attorney

  • Advance Health Care Directive(s)

  • Certification of Trust

  • Assignment of Property

  • Deed(s) and related documents necessary to transfer interests in real property into the trust

  • Community Property Declaration (for married couples)

Revocable "Living" Trust

The term “living trust” is generally used to describe a revocable trust because once created, the trust can be revoked or amended throughout one's lifetime. Like a Will, a Revocable Trust specifies how your property will be distributed upon your death. Unlike a Will, a revocable trust avoids probate at death and is a non-public document.  Revocable Trusts allow a trustee to manage their property during their lifetime and authorizes a successor trustee to manage the property for your benefit in the event of incapacity, thereby avoiding court control of assets or guardian appointments. Your assets are placed in trust and held for the testator's benefit during their lifetime. At death, trust assets are transferred to named beneficiaries, without court involvement. 

Last Will and Testament

A Last Will & Testament is a testamentary document in which named beneficiaries (people and/or companies or charities) receive your property after death.  The Will names a person or company to manage your affairs and is responsible to see that your property is distributed as provided in Will.  The Will may also name the guardian(s) of your minor children, the conservator(s) of property that belongs to minor children, make specific gifts of property and include burial instructions.

Trust Administration

We also offer complete postmortem trust administration, including post-death tax planning, including advice regarding the use of disclaimers.

  • We assist the Trustee with selling any necessary assets and prepare documents to effectuate the transfer of assets to the beneficiaries. 

  • We work closely with accountants to resolve any tax issues that may arise and to ensure the proper preparation of any required tax returns.

Trust administration is a necessary process that occurs after the death of either one or both settlors. To protect the successor trustees, there are many things that must be done to ensure proper administration.

Fortunately, working with an attorney for trust administration is a straightforward process that will give the successor trustees a great peace of mind throughout the administration.

Trust and Estate Litigation

Our trust and estate litigation services and experience make us uniquely qualified to represent fiduciaries and beneficiaries in all types of disputes. 

The Kelly Firm combines the advocacy skills of an experienced trial lawyer with the specialized tax and administration knowledge of our estate planning and probate attorney. This integration of litigation and planning administration resources gives the group unsurpassed ability to analyze and address every aspect of trust and estate litigation. We regularly represent both charitable and individual beneficiaries under trusts and wills, corporate and individual trustees of charitable and family trusts, executors of estates, fiduciaries' counsel, and persons with claims against trust or probate estates.

We have experience in:

  • Will and trust contests

  • Proceedings to interpret ambiguous provisions

  • Defense and prosecution of breaches of fiduciary duty

  • Elder financial abuse claims

  • Estate planning and administration legal malpractice litigation  

  • Actions to remove fiduciaries

  • Disputes concerning no-contest clauses

  • Suits to invalidate gifts to "prohibited transferees" under Probate Code §21350

  • Cy pres actions  

  • Claims arising out of third-party transactions with decedents and fiduciaries

We are acutely aware of the financial and emotional impact that trust and estate disputes have on institutions and families alike. We therefore maintain a close working relationship with each of our clients throughout the litigation process to ensure that we understand their priorities and involve them in important strategic decisions. Together, we actively weigh the risks and benefits of the available alternatives.

We also recognize the significant burdens imposed on fiduciaries today. We not only have the qualifications to litigate aggressively in that area, but also to resolve disputes without resort to the courts and to provide advice that prevents disputes. When representing a corporate fiduciary, we enjoy working closely with in-house counsel to achieve the institution's goal.

Controlling litigation costs is a necessity. We provide added value with our expertise in employing the means for sharing or shifting those costs whenever possible.

From the start, we identify whether a group of beneficiaries exists with sufficient common interests to warrant joint representation. We are also proactive in preserving and protecting fiduciaries' ability to have a trust or probate estate pay their legal expenses or, when representing beneficiaries, preventing the estate's depletion through the payment of attorney's fees.  

In resolving disputes, we not only seek to negotiate the most beneficial substantive terms, but also to structure settlements to maximize tax savings. Our effective use of these tools has often been critical in achieving favorable results for our clients.