At Mullen & Henzell L.L.P., we have one of the oldest and largest estate planning and administration practices in the Santa Barbara area. Our practice is personal – emphasizing the individual needs of our clients and covers all types of wealth, including active business interests, agricultural interests, real estate, securities portfolios and retirement benefits. Mullen & Henzell’s estate and administration group has both technical and practical knowledge and experience. We work closely with our clients to enable them to make informed decisions in order to achieve their family, business and tax objectives.
Practice Focus
Basic Estate Planning
Our services include preparation of Wills, Will Substitutes (such as Revocable (“Living”) Trusts) and Durable Powers of Attorney, and coordination of life insurance and retirement assets with the estate plan. Our goal is to carry out personal and family objectives in the management and transfer of family wealth.
Charitable Gift Planning
Consideration of various forms of charitable gifts for tax and charitable purposes, including outright charitable gifts, Charitable Remainder Trusts, Charitable Lead Trusts, and formation and integration with the overall estate plan of “Public Charities,” Private Foundations and Supporting Organizations.
Integrated Wealth Transfer Planning
Evaluation of techniques to reduce the overall transfer tax (i.e., gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes) burden on the transfer of family wealth through various forms of lifetime transfers. This includes outright gifts, gifts to Grantor Retained Income Trusts, gifts to Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, gifts to Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Private Annuities, and Installment Sales to Grantor or Nongrantor Trusts, and the preparation of Gift Tax Returns.
Tax and Business Planning
Consideration of the tax and business impact of multigenerational transfer of wealth on business entities, including analysis, and consideration of the selection of entity at formation (such as C corporation, S corporation, limited liability company (or LLC), general partnership, or limited partnership). We also advise on the restructure or recapitalization of an entity to accommodate efficient wealth transfer and to anticipate the need to use the assets and income of the business to ultimately pay the transfer tax.
Valuation Planning
Selection and application of the various valuation standards as they apply to the client’s assets including family business interests, with a view to position the family wealth for favorable valuation adjustments for transfer tax purposes.
Succession Planning
Consideration of the unique issues relating to family business interests in terms of continuity of management, valuation planning, and positioning the owner’s estate for favorable transfer tax provisions applicable to business interests (e.g. “special use valuation,” qualified family owned business interest deduction, and installment payment of estate tax).
Post Death Administration
Representation of executors, trustees and beneficiaries with respect to the tax, financial and business planning, as well as administration, involved with the transfer of a decedent’s wealth. This is accomplished through a formal probate administration of a Will or through the decedent’s Revocable Trust and includes the preparation of required Estate Tax Returns.
Trust Administration
Representation of both professional and non-professional trustees and beneficiaries with respect to all types of tax and non-tax matters involving continuing or terminating trusts.
Estate and Trust Litigation
Resolution of disputes among executors, trustees, beneficiaries and creditors of a decedent; guardianships; and conservatorships.
Tax Controversy
Resolution of disputes between a taxing agency and a taxpayer, such as an audit of a Gift Tax Return or an Estate Tax Return, or representing the taxpayer at the appellate administrative level or in Court (such as Tax Court or District Court).
Client Profiles
Integrated Wealth Transfer Planning
Evaluation of techniques to reduce the overall transfer tax (i.e., gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer taxes) burden on the transfer of family wealth through various forms of lifetime transfers. This includes outright gifts, gifts to Grantor Retained Income Trusts, gifts to Qualified Personal Residence Trusts, gifts to Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts, Private Annuities, and Installment Sales to Grantor or Nongrantor Trusts, and the preparation of Gift Tax Returns.
Valuation Planning
Selection and application of the various valuation standards as they apply to the client’s assets including family business interests, with a view to position the family wealth for favorable valuation adjustments for transfer tax purposes.
Succession Planning
Consideration of the unique issues relating to family business interests in terms of continuity of management, valuation planning, and positioning the owner’s estate for favorable transfer tax provisions applicable to business interests (e.g. “special use valuation,” qualified family owned business interest deduction, and installment payment of estate tax).
Having access to our top legal and professional service expertise is essential to your business’s long-term health and is important to help your business grow as rapidly and efficiently as possible. With our attorneys on your side, you can deal effectively with legal, estate, tax, employment and financial issues that might otherwise require years of study to master.
Our firm provides consideration of the unique issues relating to closely held and family business interests in terms of ownership transition, regulation, realization and preservation of value. We believe that it is vital to understand and address the full range of needs and goals of the closely held and family-owned companies we represent. Our firm has over five decades of trust and estate, business and real estate, and litigation experience, and has the skill and discretion to handle even the most sensitive and complex matters. We have earned the confidence of many generations of clients. We are often called upon to be innovators; to design creative legal solutions to some of life’s most difficult challenges.
Some of the services we provide to closely held and family-owned businesses include:
- Forming business entities such as C corporations, S corporations, general partnerships, or limited liability companies, as the needs of the business and its owners dictate
- Assisting in acquisition of real estate and lease of property, including sale-leasebacks with owners
- Assisting in locating and negotiating loans from traditional and non traditional sources
- Analyzing and structuring transactions in order to minimize federal and state income, excise and transfer taxes
- Providing practical advice and representation in all employment-related matters, including preparation of handbooks and employment applications and providing advice about the hiring and termination of employees
- Offering creative solutions to resolve disputes, short of litigation, including arbitration and mediation.
- Litigation services when other solutions fail.
- Structuring executive compensation using techniques that reward key employees and building loyalty to owners
- Coordinating business planning with owners’ estate planning
- Business Valuation
- Complex Estate Planning
Our firm has had close and long standing working relationships with farmers, ranchers and vintners in providing them with the business, real estate, litigation, wealth planning and employment legal services that are necessary in today’s agricultural business environment.
Our Business & Real Estate Group can provide legal expertise in:
Our Civil Litigation Group has extensive experience in:
- Business & Complex Litigation
- Construction
- Environmental and Land Use
- Real Estate
- Insurance coverage
Our Employment and Labor Group can provide legal representation and counseling in areas of:
Our Estate & Family Wealth Planning Group is uniquely suited to address the complex challenges of the family business. With one of the most experienced groups on the Central Coast in providing complex tax, valuation and succession planning as well as:
Our Firm provides legal services to a wide range of Charitable Organizations including hospitals, educational institutions, social service organizations, religious organizations, cultural institutions, and private and public foundations. We are active in the nonprofit community as members of many local boards.
Our Business & Real Estate Group can establish and maintain the tax-exempt status of public charities and private foundations establish the deductibility of charitable contributions, advice on board governance issues, develop policies and corporate compliance programs.
Our Estate & Family Wealth Planning Group can create and assist in the integration of charitable giving plans.
Our Employment and Labor Group provides top quality client service to charities and other nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations in the areas of nonprofit law. We counsel clients with respect to various aspects of nonprofit law, best practices, and strategies to facilitate greater board participation and effectiveness in leading the organization, and protections against liability for nonprofit leaders.