Perry L. Stottlemeyer

What makes Stottlemeyer Law different from other estate planning law firms?

There are three main factors that come into play when answering this question:

• First, I have more than 25 years as a practicing CPA which puts me into a very small grouping. Only about 0.2% of all California attorneys have a CPA designation. Why is this important? CPAs are trusted and respected advisors who have demonstrated financial expertise; they have successfully completed specific business education, have passed a rigorous and comprehensive national exam, and have completed a two-year specially targeted apprenticeship of intensive training, akin to a residency requirement for physicians. This background provides keen financial insights that most attorneys do not have.

• Second, our law firm focuses exclusively on estate planning. We do not take on other legal work like most other law firms – no real estate law, contracts, family law, or any other area of law. Just estate planning – that’s all we do so we can focus on our clients’ specific needs.

• Finally, I can completely relate to our estate planning clients’ needs because I’ve personally experienced what a well-designed estate plan can achieve. Estate planning is my chosen field of practice because . . .

I’m a middle-aged man and was very close to some folks who were approaching their final years. They had worked hard during their lives, making life-long sacrifices to acquire their now significant nest egg — several residential rental properties. They first created their Revocable Living Trust nearly 50 years ago. But as time passed, tax laws and other legislation changed. Additionally, due to missteps in a previous restatement of the Trust, as well as a recent ballot measure that adversely impacted the transfer of real property held in a Trust, they needed to re-work the Trust.

Of course, in real life, things are not always as straight-forward as we would like to believe they should be. Deterioration in their family dynamics also played a role in the challenge of restating their Family Trust.

A few years ago, the husband was beginning to show signs of his advanced age, including occasional memory challenges. In some ways it began to worsen as the years passed, but he still knew his tenants’ names, as well as the names of most of the current Presidential administration. However, although the husband and wife were sharing a living space, communication between them had nearly ceased and they no longer had common life goals. Despite these complicating factors, the Trust required attention to address recent changes in the law.

As a CPA who had recently graduated from law school, passed the bar exam and got licensed, I was eager to help these folks navigate the process. The husband was anxious to complete the update and enthusiastically accepted my offer to help. The wife’s concurrence was not guaranteed, but I believed we could develop a plan that would ultimately satisfy the objectives of both spouses, plus protect the future interests of the beneficiaries, some of which were now estranged.

I helped them retain an estate planning attorney, and I acted as their agent to help move the process along. The task required substantial effort, mostly due to these folks’ diminished ability to clearly communicate their ideas and aspirations. But after a few months of trial and error, agreement between them was successful. There was an immense sense of satisfaction upon the completion of the restated Trust.

Unfortunately, one year later the husband passed. Now it was time to help the wife realize her goals that were memorialized in the Trust. We quickly determined fair market value of the properties and began entertaining offers from potential buyers. It took a little time as you might expect, but here is the really exciting news: because California is a Community Property state, she benefitted from “stepped-up basis” on all of the properties. In other words, despite what the properties actually cost many decades earlier, her “cost” was adjusted (stepped-up) to fair market value as of the date of her husband’s death. Why is this important? She was able to sell the rental properties at zero gain – therefore, no tax on the sale. What a huge benefit!

I learned something about myself in the process of assisting these folks . . . I really enjoy this field of law! And my extensive professional background is perfectly compatible with the field.

I realize that this situation is not unique. There are many other folks who need to either create an estate plan, or update the one they already have. People need an advocate who has been there, so to speak. Someone who really cares about helping them to get their affairs in order. I am that attorney! I would sincerely love to meet with you and evaluate your particular circumstances to ascertain how I can be of help.

In closing, I would like to leave you with some sage advice that I came across a few years ago. You might not know of Mr. David Ness, President of the Raymond James Trust Co., but he said something that is both noteworthy and profound: “In life, there are two things you should never skimp on – a parachute, and your estate planning documents. In both cases, you only use them once, and they have to work.

Call or text our office today so that we can arrange a time to get together to discuss your options.