Interview by OC Metro Magazine

Ted Hankin, Estate Planning Attorney, CPA is interviewed by OC Metro Magazine

(Publication date: Fall 2014)

What inspired you to go into law?   I grew up in a family of CPAs; I didn’t want to practice accounting. Accountants always dealt with matters after they occurred; as an attorney, I had the opportunity to be in at the beginning.

What was behind you choosing your specialty?   As a young attorney, I associated in a law firm that was both transactional and litigation oriented; I was cross-trained in both.   As time went on, I developed expertise in several areas, some related to my CPA background (e.g. business transactions, tax disputes) others simply because the work presented itself (probate, trusts, estate planning, litigation involving same).

Do you have any particular cases or related experiences (either in the legal realm or otherwise) you’d like to share?   One Perry Mason moment: Trying a case in Orange County probate court regarding the caretaker getting the elderly gentleman to sign over his condo in Rossmoor Leisure World to her before he died; I represented a cousin, his only living heir.  After an all day trial, about 4:15pm, on cross-examination, I asked the caretaker if she had him create the deed to which she responded, as close as I can remember: “Of course I did, without him transferring the property to me the State would get it.”   The judge ruled from the bench at the end of the day in favor of my client.

What is your proudest moment?  I am proud of the fact that I have and maintain two professional licenses, although I practice full time as an attorney. I am also the proud father of two daughters, both college graduates. And I am also proud of my wife, Susan Jacob, PhD., a psychologist. It is my belief that she helps more in society than I do; what I do only involves money. She saves lives.

 Any advice you’d like to give those dealing with an issue in your legal specialty?   Greed seems to motivate everyone when it comes to litigating over a decedent’s estate or trust. It is sometimes disguised as principle (i.e. Mom would have wanted me to sue Dad over what he is doing)… but really? When you decide to litigate, be sure of your own motivation.

Be up front with your case; I don’t believe in hiding the football. Lay out the cards as the skill is in how they are played, not what they are.  My partners, LWMH Partners, and I believe in delivering the highest quality services that we are capable of providing….the client does come first in our firm.

Advice for law students:   Making a living practicing law is a tough way to go…. Be sure that’s what you want. I’ve been doing it for 37 years and I enjoy going to the office each day, I enjoy trial. I have no illusions about being better than anyone else. I always do my best, and that’s enough.

Interesting facts?      I am a certified scuba diver. I have belonged to sailing clubs. I am chairman of the board of a local non-profit that provides low cost and no cost psychological counseling services to those in need in Laguna Beach.   I enjoy camping, cigars and a good single malt Scotch, not necessarily in that order.

What specific certifications do you have?   I am, in addition to being an attorney, a California CPA. I belong to the Orange County Bar Association, the California State Bar and the American Bar Association. I am also a member of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants

 

 

What Kind of Family Trust Should We Make for Our Children

Question: My husband and I are planning to create a family trust. This is our first marriage.
Is it better to create a survivor trust and a bypass trust or just a survivor trust so that when one of us die, all the assets will go to the survivor? I understand if you have a bypass trust, then the survivor is only allowed to have the income from the bypass trust and won’t be able to touch the principal. If everything goes into the survivor trust, does the survivor has to pay taxes? Does the children have to pay taxes on the inheritance who inherits after the survivor’s death?

Answer: The decision as to what type of trust to create should be made after consulting qualified counsel.  While a bypass trust does limit itself to income for the survivor there is usually a provision that allows the bypass trust principal to be invaded if the assets of the survivor’s trust have been exhausted.

 

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Top Lawyers Featured in Inland Empire Magazine Attorneys CA

Ted Hankin of Lytton Williams Messina and Hankin LLP as featured in: INLAND EMPIRE MAGAZINE, Top Lawyers Resource Guide, Fall 2013 edition.

Lytton Williams Messina & Hankin LLP (the “Firm”) maintain close relationships with their clients and continue to make personalized service their number one priority. Partners Lytton Willaims and Messina were all formerly partners in the Century city law firm of Kelly Lytton & Williams. Prior to joining Kelly Lytton, Sheldon Lytton and Richard Williams, each with more than 30 years of legal experience practiced at O’Melveny & Myers and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, respectively, and were then partners in Finely Kumble Wagner Heine Underberg & Manley, one of the largest national law firms in the United States. John Messina, head of the Firm’s Temecula Valley Office, is a licensed real estate broker and was the head of a mortgage banking firm in the San Gabriel Valley before turning to the law. Ted Hankin, an attorney and CPA, heads the Firm’s Newport Beach Office and was formerly the Division Chair of the Estates, Probate and Trust Division of Alvarado Smith APC. Henry Holguin, of Counsel to the Firm, was formerly a name partner in Miller & Holguin, and is one of California’s most noted health care attorneys; he currently serves as the general counsel of AltaMed, the largest Federally qualified Community Health Center in the United States.

The Firm’s Practice Areas Include:
1. General Business Litigation and Resolution of Disputes, including Representation of Public Agencies, and Representation of Clients before Federal, State and Local Government Agencies.
2. Real Estate Litigation and Transactions involving Natural Resources and Environmental Law (Air Quality, Public Utilities, Endangered Species, Water Quality, and CEQA), Real Estate Finance, Land Use and Entitlements, and Eminent Domain.
3. Trust and Estate Planning, Administration and Litigation
4. Health Care Law including Litigation, Regulatory Compliance, and General Health Care Legal Counseling
5. Business Entity Formation, Corporate Governance, Business Securities and Finance, and Business Tax Counseling and Strategies
6. Structure and Placement of International Investments in California Business and Real Estate
7. All Family Law Matters through Of Counsel, Richard Trugman

All four of the Firm’s named Partners have a Martindale-Hubble AV Preeminent rating which is the highest possible rating for an attorney for both ethical standards and legal ability.

To see the archived article, click here.

Posted by Theodore M. Hankin