Silicon Valley estate planning attorney Janet L. Brewer has released a “Guide to Choosing Your California Estate Planning Attorney“. Designed especially for San Francisco Bay Area families and individuals of high net worth, the guide includes a checklist that can help narrow down the choices when faced with dozens of attorneys.

Brewer has focused exclusively on California probate law, estate planning, and gift-planning law since 1991. She summarizes the process required for a custom-designed estate plan, and the qualities that distinguish the most capable attorneys.

Readers may be surprised to learn that any attorney can call himself an estate planner, even if he has no qualifications or experience in estate planning.

“No one wants to see his or her financial legacy come undone,” says Brewer. “If you have an estate worth several million dollars — and you likely do if you own property in the Bay Area — then you need to think about how you will protect it from being ravaged by taxes, creditors, and predators. You need to protect your assets during your lifetime, and you need to make sure that they remain available to your heirs.”

Brewer answers fifteen frequently asked questions related to estate planning, covering such topics as:

• The difference between a living trust and a will
• The impact of foreign citizenship, and
• How often an estate plan should be updated

REAL WORLD SCENARIOS

The guide also lays out a handful of scenarios, and the kinds of issues that should be dealt with in the various cases. For example:

• Barry is an entrepreneur in his 50s. He holds a green card and owns real estate, stock, cars and antiques in the U.S. He also has assets in South America and Europe. The guide tells how a good estate planning attorney can help Barry minimize estate, capital gains, and property taxes.
• Sanjay and Ling are foreign nationals whose children were born in the U.S. They want to make sure their two young children are cared for if anything bad happened. See how an experienced estate planning attorney can help them update their plan as their family — and finances — grow.
• Edna wants all four of her children to share equally in her estate. But she wants her son to have the $7 million family home. An experienced estate planning attorney will recognize some of the pitfalls in that scenario, such as the financial burden of taking over the mortgage and property taxes.
• Bill is a successful Palo Alto business owner ready to retire but lacking an exit strategy. He needs an attorney experienced in formulating personalized business exit plans and estate plans for Bay Area business owners.

TIPS ON COMPARING ATTORNEYS

Professional services can’t be judged in the same way someone might compare two models of TV sets or the various options available on a new car, Brewer says. Clients need to understand what an estate planning attorney must do, and the kind of expertise needed to do it well. When the client and attorney are a good match, the family members can feel confident that their wishes will be carried out even when they are no longer there to personally supervise.

GUIDANCE FROM A TRUSTED SPECIALIST

Serving Palo Alto and the surrounding region, Brewer is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the CA State Bar Board of Legal Specialization. She writes the California Probate, Trusts, and Estate Law Blog and has authored several guides on estate planning, including:

•      U.S. Gift Tax and Estate Tax Planning for Non-Residents and Non-Citizens
•      Year-End 2010 Tax Law Update for Bay Area Families
•      Tax Law Update for San Francisco CPAs Serving High Net Worth Clients and
•      Picking Your Trustee in California

About the Law Offices of Janet L. Brewer

Janet Brewer is a certified specialist in estate planning by the California State Bar Board of Legal Specialization, and has an advanced degree in tax law. She has practiced California estate, gift-planning, and probate law exclusively since 1991. Brewer offers comprehensive estate planning probate services including:

•      Providing professional advice on living trusts wills, irrevocable life insurance trusts, charitable planning, and international estate planning
•      Probate estate administration
•      Establishing family limited partnerships and limited liability companies
•      Minimizing estate taxes preparing estate tax returns
•      Minimizing gift taxes preparing gift tax returns
•      Preparing a full range of estate planning documents, including Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, Life Insurance Trusts, Children’s Trusts, Generation-Skipping Trusts, Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, Charitable Trusts, Medical Powers of Attorney Living Wills
•      Preparing financial powers of attorney other financial arrangement, and more

To retain Brewer, please visit www.calprobate.com/get-started.

To stay up to date on Brewer’s posted tips and guides, subscribe to receive her emails or follow @calprobatenews.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebestate-planning-attorney/guide/prweb8524545.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/06/06/prweb8524545.DTL

Larry Ellison sues neighbor for blocking Bay views

Too bad the neighbors of Larry Ellison, the CEO of Bay Area based Oracle Corp., don’t have any ties to the Julia Butterfly Hill or the four Berkeley tree sitters, who spent 649 days living on the trees to protest their planned destruction. They may wish they did, now that a lawsuit brought on by Larry Ellison is about to hit the courts.

Larry Ellison, who is the fifth richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of $39.5 billion, is well known for his taste in real estate. He spent millions and several years developing his Japanese inspired, Zen compound down in Woodside. His home in the city, appropriately located in Pacific Heights, is over 10,000 square feet, with 5 bedrooms and commands grand, sweeping views of the Bay. Purchased back in 1988 for $3.9 million, he’s now suing his neighbors for letting their trees get too tall and obstructing his views.

WSJ.com

The trees and Bay view Larry Ellison is suing over

The owners of the trees, Bernard and Jane Von Bothmer, became Larry’s neighbors back in 2004 when they purchased their home that is just down slope from his house. He had once offered $15 million to buy their property, which they purchased for $6.9 million, but they rejected. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Larry has hired an attorneys specializing in tree disputes and is claiming loss of natural light and views in his suit against his neighbors.

The court date follows a lawsuit Mr. Ellison filed last June alleging he will suffer “irreparable injury” from lost property value if the court doesn’t make the Von Bothmers cut their trees in order to “restore Plaintiff’s views and sunlight.”

Disputes about trees and views in the city between homeowners are surprisingly not that uncommon. The city of San Francisco has specific guidelines that owners are asked to follow with tree disputes.

In 1988, the city passed a “Tree Dispute Resolution Ordinance” requiring a complainant to seek “initial reconciliation” with the tree owner, file a “tree claim” if that doesn’t work and, if necessary, submit the dispute to “binding arbitration.” If all else fails, the dispute can go to court.

It appears now that all else has failed. In the court deposition, the Von Bothmers claimed that they have caught workers in their trees preparing to cut branches, while Larry says if that is true, they weren’t working for him. This is just one of the multiple claims by both sides over the trees. With trial set to start June 6th, we’ll soon learn if Larry will get his views back or not.

Posted By: Jenny Pisillo (Email) | May 31 2011 at 03:50 PM

Listed Under: Bay Area

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Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/ontheblock/detail?entry_id=90074

Cherif Medawar Real Estate Investing (CMREI), a commercial real estate training and investment opportunity company, announces exciting discounted secured real estate mortgage notes at his free seminars in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

These “Investing” seminars or events promise to teach participants a low risk, low hassle way to invest in real estate cash flow instruments with high benefits and rewards that will lead to the opportunity of making 14% to 40% fairly safe yield per year.

“Owning secured mortgage notes is a proven path to wealth especially if you acquire them at a discount,” said Cherif Medawar, Founder of CMREI.

Since 2009, Medawar has been purchasing hundreds of homes in bulk REOs from banks and asset managers. Medawar then turned around and rehabbed them, then sold them by carrying the financing. Consequently, the End-Buyers (who often do not have the best credit) got to own a home by making low monthly installment payments, often lower than rent in the neighborhood. Medawar presented these Notes for resale at a discount to his student/investors from CMREI and ended up creating a win/win/win business model with over 1000 families getting into homes and 1000 mortgage notes sold at a discount to investors.

The seminar will be a full day in which local Bay Area and Anaheim investors will have the opportunity to understand how this business model works and how they can participate on any level they wish. This process allows the students to truly learn and earn while establishing a steady monthly cash flow with an instant increase in their net worth when they buy any note at a discount off its face value.

Participants can use their retirement accounts or credit lines if they wish to buy the discounted real estate notes that weathered the economy for the past 20 years plus.

Previous students of Medawar have found such great success in Medawar’s business plan that they have expressed their excitement on YouTube.

“He [Cherif] is the real deal,” said Roxanna, a real estate broker in Southern California who attended a Cherif Medawar seminar. “I’m looking forward to bringing my clients, my investors on board, which I have. Now we have lists. We have properties. We have avenues to go to…that we did not have before. So, he’s the real deal. I’m looking forward to it. Thanks, Cherif.”

The first seminar will be held on Saturday, March 26, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m at the Santa Clara Marriott in Santa Clara, CA. The second seminar is on Sunday, March 27, from 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Anaheim Hotel in Anaheim, CA.

About Cherif Medawar Real Estate Investing:

For 20 Years Cherif Medawar, Founder of Cherif Medawar Real Estate Investing, has been sharing his successful Real Estate Investing techniques. He now makes it possible not only to learn alongside him but to also invest where he invests and ‘learn while YOU earn’.

Those wishing to learn more and/or get involved with his successful business models including how to get huge cash flows secured by real estate should attend a free presentation held by Cherif Medawar personally. For dates, times and locations please go to: www.events.cmrei.com.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prwebcherif-medawar/real-estate-seminar/prweb8234925.htm

Article source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/03/24/prweb8234925.DTL