Estate Planning

From their offices in Costa Mesa, the attorneys at Mollis & Mollis, Inc. draft individually tailored, tax-sensitive estate planning documents designed to accomplish the goals of the client, avoid probate administration, and minimize or eliminate any transfer tax consequences.  Our focus is on providing an estate plan that is appropriate for the needs of the client; we seek to minimize unnecessary complexity, provide for ease of administration, and give our clients maximum benefit for the amount they spend on their estate plan.  Our areas of representation include:

 We draft estate planning documents including:

• Revocable Living Trusts: Living trusts and assist our clients in properly funding their trust in order to avoid the necessity of a probate administration on the death of a client.
• Wills: Simple wills for clients, as well as pour-over wills, which are wills designed to work in unison with a living trust. We also prepare wills with guardianship provisions for our clients’ minor children.
• Financial Powers of Attorney: Financial powers of attorney designating a person or persons to manage the financial affairs of our clients in the event they become incapacitated.
• Advance Health Care Directives: Advance Health Care Directives allowing our clients to designate a person or persons to make medical decisions on their behalf and carry out their wishes with regard to health care
• Irrevocable Trusts, including Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts.

As a Certified Taxation Law Specialist, Ronald A. Mollis has a thorough understanding of the taxation issues inherent in estate planning, and routinely advises clients on estate planning strategies to minimize income, gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes, and also counsels clients regarding property tax exemptions. For further information on the tax planning services offered by the firm, see the Estate Planning page.

Our firm represents many business owners, and we are frequently consulted regarding the succession of a closely-held or family business.  Succession of a family business to a succeeding generation requires consideration of many issues, including who will succeed to the family business; the maintenance and structure of the business after incapacity or death; how, when and in what manner those family members will receive the interest in the business; and what assets passive family members may receive in lieu of an interest in the business.  Protection must also be incorporated into the plan against subsequent voluntary or involuntary transfers of business interests to third parties.  Contentious family disagreements can arise which can jeopardize the survival of the business, and family harmony is an important consideration in any business succession plan.Whether the business is to be transferred to succeeding generations, or to parties outside of the family, our attorneys can help you in formulating tax saving strategies for the sale or transfer of your business, using Buy/Sell Agreements and advanced planning techniques such as private annuity agreements, installment sales, and grantor retained annuity trusts.  For further information on the services we provide to business owners, see the Business Law and Business Litigation pages.