February 26 Seminar Offers Insights on Planning to Avoid Estate Tax, Protect Family Assets for Three Generations

Palo Alto, CA (Law Firm Newswire) February 10, 2014 – Michael Gilfix, a prominent Palo Alto estate planning attorney, is offering an estate-planning seminar in San Jose, CA.

The 2013 tax return filing season has begun in earnest, and many taxpayers will rush to meet the April 15 deadline for filing returns. That often pell-mell pre-deadline dash may seem the norm, but taxpayers will need to employ a more methodical, long-term approach to dealing with their estate-related tax issues. And there are few ways better to inform oneself about estate planning than to attend a seminar hosted by a seasoned attorney and specialist.

Michael Gilfix — a prominent estate planning attorney whose law firm, Gilfix & La Poll Associates LLP, has offices in Palo Alto and San Jose — will be hosting a seminar on Wednesday, February 26, 2014, in San Jose. The seminar will tackle estate-related topics under the telling title, “How to Protect Assets for Your Family.” The topics of discussion include measures to avoid estate tax, Medi-Cal planning, long-term care and asset protection.

A home is often one’s most important asset. Bearing that in mind, Gilfix, author of the estate-planning tome “Beat Estate Tax Forever,” will emphasize the importance of protecting one’s residence and outline the optimum ways to accomplish that goal. Some of the more specific vehicles for asset protection that Gilfix will be discussing include living trusts, dynasty trusts and Special Needs Trusts.

“The task of passing your financial legacy on to your loved ones requires a proactive approach,” Gilfix says. “It is important to be actively engaged in estate and tax planning. Through the use of key planning tools, one can reduce or even eliminate estate tax liability.”

For many people pondering a looming retirement and the potentially high cost of long-term care, Gilfix — a graduate of Stanford Law School with nearly 30 years of experience in elder law Medi-Cal planning — will stress that knowledge of when to plan and awareness of options for defraying costs are critically important. For many facing the need for long-term care, Medi-Cal turns out to be a very viable option.

“Medi-Cal is very important to our client community, and we find that, in the vast majority of cases, it is possible to protect the estate, achieve eligibility for Medi-Cal and get significant help to pay for the cost of long-term care,” Gilfix said. “But it’s a matter of learning what the rules are, and then taking advantage of the rules and the opportunities that the law provides.”

The Gilfix-sponsored seminar will be held from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. and from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26, 2014 at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose. Admission is free, and anyone who wishes to attend may register by calling (650) 493-8070 or by visiting online at www.gilfix.com. Copies of the second edition of “Beat Estate Tax Forever” will be available at the seminar.