From the beginning of the firm, Trusts & Estates law has been a major practice area of Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan. Throughout the years, the scope and geographic reach of the firm’s Trusts and Estates practice has broadened, and it now stands as one of the premier providers of Trusts and Estates legal services in San Diego County.
Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan has assembled a team of attorneys and paralegals with diverse but complimentary backgrounds. Those attorneys come from small firms as well as large firms, and their backgrounds range from traditional Trusts and Estates lawyers to experienced trial attorneys. Using a team approach, the professionals of Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan bring to bear their collective experience in an effort to provide the highest-quality legal services to every client.
Our Trusts and Estates attorneys have recognized expertise in the areas in which they practice. They include attorneys who have been designated as Certified Specialists in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. Our attorneys are frequently called upon to teach other attorneys and professionals in areas relating to Trusts and Estates. Among the organizations for which our attorneys have lectured are the American Bar Association, UCSD Extension, the San Diego Tax Institute, the California Education of the Bar, the California CPA Foundation, and the Lorman Institute.
ESTATE PLANNING
Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan provides virtually any estate planning service required by an individual or family. These services include:
Basic estate planning including the creation of revocable living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, and advance health care directives;
Preparation of irrevocable trust documents including irrevocable life insurance trusts and irrevocable gift trusts for children and grandchildren;
Advanced wealth transfer planning involving family limited partnerships, sales to intentional grantors trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), and qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs);
Charitable Gift Planning including the preparation of charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts;
Business succession planning involving techniques designed to reduce the income tax and transfer tax impact of succession and techniques designed to enhance liquidity; and
Preparation of gift tax returns and private letter ruling requests, and representation of clients before the IRS in connection with such returns and requests.
TRUST AND ESTATE ADMINISTRATION
A major part of the trusts and estates practice at Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan involves representing trustees, executors, and beneficiaries in post-death trust administration and probate matters. The legal services provided by Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan in this regard include the following:
Representation of corporate fiduciaries and individuals in every aspect of trust or probate administration;
Representation of trustees and executors in seeking instructions from the court regarding interpretation of documents and other internal affairs of a trust or probate;
Representation of clients in connection with the reformation or modification of irrevocable trusts;
Representation of beneficiaries, including charitable beneficiaries, in connection with the protection of their interests under a trust or estate;
Preparation of estate tax returns and gift tax returns; and
Representation of taxpayers, including trustees and executors, in audits and other administrative proceedings involving estate tax returns and gift tax returns.
TRUST AND ESTATE LITIGATION
The Trust and Estate Litigation attorneys of Ferrette, Alcorn, Pharies & Dorgan are uniquely qualified to represent clients in all aspects of dispute resolution and litigation relating to trusts and estates. The litigation services provided including the following:
Defense of trustees and executors facing inquiries and potential claims from beneficiaries;
Prosecution of claims by beneficiaries against trustees and executors;
Prosecution and defense of will contests and trust contests;
Prosecution and defense of actions involving powers of attorney;
Prosecution and defense of financial elder abuse claims;
Business and real estate claims involving fiduciaries and beneficiaries; and
Representation of clients in mediation, arbitration, trial, and appeal of any of the above-referenced actions.
