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LONICH PATTON EHRLICH POLICASTRI
1871 The Alameda, Suite 400, San Jose, CA 95126
Phone: (408) 553-0801 | Fax: (408) 553-0807 | Email: contact@lpeplaw.com
LONICH PATTON EHRLICH POLICASTRI
Phone: (408) 553-0801
Fax: (408) 553-0807
Email: contact@lpeplaw.com
1871 The Alameda, Suite 400
San Jose, CA 95126
Located in San Jose, Lonich Patton Ehrlich Policastri handles matters for clients in northern California, specifically San Jose and Silicon Valley. Our services are available to anyone within the following counties: Santa Clara, San Mateo, Contra Costa, Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, and San Francisco. For a full listing of areas where we practice, please click here.
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David Patton Secures Primary Custody & Move Away Order in Hotly Contested Child Custody Case
/in Family Law, Firm News /by Lonich Patton Ehrlich PolicastriFollowing a lengthy trial, the Santa Clara County Family Court ruled in favor of Mr. Patton’s client, awarding full custody of the children to the mother and giving her the right to move to another state with the children.
Father in this case sought 100% custody of the children and wanted to prevent Mother from taking the children to another state.
The court found that using the “best interests” standard followed in California for initial custody determinations, Mother should be awarded full custody and be permitted to move out of state with the children. The custody battle included allegations of domestic violence and inappropriate physical punishment of one of the children. The court took testimony from a court appointed expert, who had completed a custody evaluation involving both parents and the children, as well as testimony from experts hired by Father.
Upon considering all the evidence presented, the court found Mr. Patton’s evidence and arguments to be persuasive and granted Mother the right to move away with the children to another state.
Mr. Patton is a Certified Family Law Specialist as certified by The State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization and limits his practice exclusively to family law (divorce, child custody, domestic violence, restraining orders, spousal support, etc.). His certification is provided by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization.
Making Your Wishes Known at the End of Life
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichApril 16, 2010 is Health Care Decisions Day, a national campaign to encourage Americans to complete their advance directives, living wills, and basically document their preferences regarding medical treatment at the end of life.
Researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor have discovered that almost a third of patients over the age of 60 would eventually become so incapacitated that they would be unable to express their preferences regarding end of life treatment. Patients who specified all care possible in their living wills were far more likely to receive aggressive care as opposed to those who didn’t.
The number of individuals who possess living wills has increased over the years. Without these documents, they patient remains vulnerable despite whether or not they had end of life discussions with their doctors. With 40 million new patients in the healthcare system and the decreasing number of physicians , end of life discussions are becoming nearly impossible.
An attorney is not needed to obtain these documents. Patients can designate a healthcare proxy. A healthcare proxy is a trusted friend or relative who can make decisions for a patient. Proxies won’t have as much of an effect as a documented living will, but it’s a good backup.
For Full Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/16/health/15chen.html
Estate Planning Red Flag
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichIf you’ve recently divorced and haven’t yet revisited your estate plan, or don’t have one, you may be in for some surprises. It is important to review your estate plan to be sure that it does not confer any unintended benefits or rights on your former spouse. Here are some questions to consider:
1. Does your former spouse have access to any jointly owned assets, such as bank accounts, investments or real estate?
2. Is your former spouse still the designated beneficiary of any life insurance policies, IRAs or other retirement plans?
3. If an ERISA plan, was an appropriate ERISA waiver obtained at the time you negotiated your divorce settlement?
4. Did you give your former spouse any powers of attorney or designate him or her as your agent for health care decisions?
5. Did you name your former spouse as a beneficiary of any trusts? Are they irrevocable? If so, do they provide for your spouses’ interest to terminate automatically in the event of divorce? If not, do the trust documents and applicable state law allow you to change beneficiaries or modify the disposition of the trust assets?
6. Does your divorce settlement or judgment address any of these issues?
After a divorce, or any other major life change, such as marriage, birth of a child or death of a family member, you should meet with your estate planning advisor as soon as possible to review your plan. Failure to modify your plan to reflect these changes can lead to unexpected and, in many cases, undesirable results.
Is the Price Right?
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichBuy/Sell Agreements and Estate Planning
Generally, for a buy/sell agreement to establish the value of a business interest for estate planning purposes it must:
1. Be a bona fide business arrangement;
2. Not be a device for transferring the business to family members at a discounted value;
3. Have terms comparable to similar, arms length agreements;
4. Fix a purchase price that is reasonable when the agreement is executed; and outline a pricing formula to consider evaluation changes in the intervening years;
5. Require an owner’s estate or beneficiaries to sell the shares at a specified price; and
6. Restrict owners’ disposition of their interests during life and at death.
If at least 50% of a company’s value is owned by non-family members subject to the same terms as family members, a buy/sell agreement is presumed to meet these requirements.
2010: The Year of No Estate Tax
/in Estate Planning /by Michael LonichThe Economic Growth and Tax Reconciliation Act of 2001 eliminated estate taxes for 2010, though they will return with a vengeance in 2011. (The maximum rate, previously 45% with an exemption of 3.5 million, rises to 55% next year with an exemption of just 1 million.) Although many expect Congress to retroactively apply estate taxes for this year, others are calling 2010 the “throw mama from the train” year. Adding an element of suspense is a push in Congress to make permanent the previous $3.5 million exemption. California’s estate lawyers are awaiting the outcome of HR4154. Even if Congress extends the 2009 exemption going forward there were many plans written with the current code in mind and once a permanent decision is made many plans will need rewriting.
Many observers doubt the HR4154 will pass unless it includes a provision to “reunify” gift and estate taxes which were split into different rates in 2001. That, in turn, could mean a two or three year boom in tax and estate law as gift givers scramble to take advantage of the shift.
With all of the changes happening recently as well as potential changes yet to be decided, many estate plans could have holes and will probably have some issues once the law is changed. If it ends up being no estate tax in 2010, it will make for an interesting year.