Estates and Trusts

Administration and Settling of Estate

For the first time in your life you may find yourself an executor or trustee of an estate. We will help you fulfill your fiduciary responsibilities and guide you through the process - from the death of the decedent to the final distribution of the estate. Our assistance includes the following:

• Reviewing trust and will documents

• Communicating with attorneys or difficult family members

• Preparing trust accounting in compliance with trust documents and California Probate Code

• Assistance with obtaining appraisals and valuation discounts

• Prepare decedent’s final personal income tax return

• Prepare fiduciary tax return for administration of estate

• Prepare Form 706, the estate tax return (if necessary)

• Calculating asset allocation and amount of distributions to beneficiaries in accordance with will and trust requirements

• Assistance with filings for exclusion from reassessment of real property from transfers between parent/child or grandparent/grandchild

• Assistance in obtaining a private letter ruling to allow portability of the deceased spouse unused exclusion (DSUE) when a Form 706 is not timely filed.

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Preparation of Fiduciary and Estate tax returns

We have extensive experience preparing the following trust and estate-related tax returns:

• Form 709 - Gift Tax return

• Form 706 - United States Estate Tax return

• Form 1040 - Decedent’s final personal income tax return

• Form 1041 - Fiduciary tax return for the administration of the estate

• Form 1041 - Other fiduciary tax returns such as By-Pass Trusts (Credit-Shelter Trusts or Exemption Trusts), Special-Needs Trusts, Generation-Skipping Transfer Trusts, and Charitable Trusts