The Probate Court has jurisdiction over probate matters, concerning the administration of a decedent's estate in the State of California.

Probate Administration

If a person dies without a will, the Probate Court decides who the heirs are according to the laws of the State of California. If a person dies with a will, the Court determines the validity of the decedent's will. The Court will select the person to administer the estate. The Administrator (The Executor if there is a will) is responsible to do the following:

• Pay debts and Expenses of the Estate
• Pay Taxes
• Prepare an accounting for the beneficiaries and the Court
• Distribute assets to beneficiaries

Because the laws of the State in which you reside will determine who receives your property if you die without a will, you can decide for yourself who gets your property if you have a will or a living trust. If you die with a trust, then you can avoid probate, saving time and money and keeping your estate out of the public eye. Because of our tax and estate planning knowledge, we will help to keep as much as possible of the estate for later distribution to the beneficiaries.

Probate Litigation

We represent parties in litigation in Probate Court on various matters:

• Someone may contest a will or a trust because they believe the document is a fraud, or it was signed because of undue influence or perhaps the person did not have the mental capacity to know what they were signing
• There may be creditor claims that need to be resolved for or against the estate
• Were proper actions taken under a power of attorney
• The Administrator or Executor of the Estate might not have done their job properly (breach of fiduciary duty)

We also litigate matters concerning trustees and beneficiaries in some of the following areas:

• Interpretation of trust provisions
• Trust distributions
• Possible breaches of fiduciary duties
• Compensation of the Trustee

People often find it difficult to plan their estate for a number of reasons. It might be that it is hard to discuss the subject of death. There may be a complicated family arrangement. Sometimes a person is just so busy that they seem to have no time to attend these matters. But when you get your estate planning done, a burden will be lifted from your shoulders.

John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law seeks to make your estate planning as easy as possible for you, so that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, while minimizing the amount of taxes paid from your estate.

Services Provided by the Firm:

At the firm, services we also provide include:

• A thorough review of the client’s estate planning objectives with a thought to minimize Federal and State taxes
• Life insurance planning
• Family gifting and wealth transfer planning
• Closely held business planning
• Family Limited Liability Companies and Partnerships
• Preparation of Gift Tax and Estate Tax Returns
• Representation in Income Tax and Estate Tax Audits
• Trust Administration and Estate Administration

At the law firm of John R. Ronge, we guide our clients through a full range of tax planning and preparation decisions with strategies that minimize your tax liabilities, maximize your cash flow and keep you on track to your financial goals. Our expertise, experience, analysis and thorough research allow us to optimize financial opportunities to be found in existing as well as recently altered tax laws. We are knowledgeable and up to date on the tax laws and can make sense of your receipts, bills and notices.

Professional representation can be vital during an audit, and our experience with tax authorities enables us to guide clients in their dealings with federal and state agencies. If you have been chosen for an audit, the professional representation you can find with our firm can put many of your worries at bay. We are ready and willing to answer any and all questions the IRS may be asking of you.

Accurate record-keeping is essential to a successful business yet can also be complicated and time consuming. John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law can help you with the organization and day-to-day tasks of bookkeeping so that you can focus on your core business.

Your business entity has a large impact on your taxes and other liabilities. From your company's inception through its growth and development, John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law can advise you on choosing an entity type and later restructuring if advantageous. With our knowledge and expertise, you will always be receiving the most advantageous entity type for the functions your business performs.

QuickBooks can provide useful and timely information in the form of financial statements, reports and graphs. However, it can only provide this information if you purchase the right product and then install, setup and use it properly. We don't just help you use the software, we help you use it more efficiently and more effectively.

John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law offers the following solutions to help meet your QuickBooks needs:

Personal Training

We train you personally! Either one-on-one or several individuals within your organization at your company's location.

Installation

We install QuickBooks on your stand alone computer or in a network environment, in either single- or multi-user mode.

Setup

We assist new QuickBooks users with initial setup including: EasyStep Interview, Preferences, Lists, Customers, Vendors, Employees, Banking and Reports. We also help experienced users manage their businesses more effectively by improving their current setup. Many users experience problems and lack the ability to generate and track important information as a result of inadequate setup.

Support

Our QuickBooks support service can assist you with any installation, setup or operation assistance you might need. In addition, our support is not limited just to the software part of it, but we can also provide accounting and payroll assistance.

Review

Our QuickBooks review service helps companies that have the human resources to perform daily accounting and payroll tasks, but need an accounting and payroll expert to review your transactions, accounts and reports. This review ensures that you receive timely, relevant and reliable financial information. We also inform you of any corrections, adjustments or reclassifications necessary to ensure that the financial information you receive reflects the correct financial condition of your business. Reviews may be conducted at any time, but monthly reviews provide you with up-to-date information and feedback about your business.

As technologies rapidly advance, companies increasingly need to update their computer systems. John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law can audit your system competencies and gauge upgrade needs as well as provide support in choosing and implementing new hardware or network systems. As experts in this field, we can put your computer problems at bay as well as improve your computer system's performance taking into consideration any budget you may have.

John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law's payroll services can help you reduce the time spent on administration through developing and implementing a computerized payroll system that will facilitate processing, timely payment and preparation of tax returns.

Choosing and administering benefit plans for your employees is often a complex process. John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law can help you develop, implement, and administer your benefit, retirement, and profit-sharing plans with an eye toward rewarding your employees and reaching your company's financial and business goals. We can also help maximize tax advantages in implementing these plans. As your business grows, your business and your employees will be rewarded for the hard work that contributed to the success of your business.

Good cash management can improve a company's liquidity, reduce costs, and increase profitability. John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law can help you maintain optimal cash flow levels by tracking sources and uses, forecasting, and budgeting accordingly. To a business entity, cash flow is something that can make or break the business' ability to survive. We can help you analyze your spending, re-balance your budget and/or debts for an optimal cash flow to support your business' success. This balance plan would be revisited if and when there were any major changes in your business structure to ensure that you are operating at an optimal level. With our help and guidance, you will always be on top of your finances and ready for the future.

No one can predict the future perfectly, but we can all benefit from planning for it. John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law combines expertise and experience with a gained understanding of your business to produce financial projections that can help you manage your business plan and spending. Forecasting for the future is imperative to your company's success. We make it a point to keep current with market trends and updates so that your business can be prepared for what is to come. Depending on your needs, our work can range from top-level reports to detailed financial models.

Whether your needs are corporate or personal, John R. Ronge, Attorney at Law's professionals can assist you in sorting out the different options available for debt management and financing that will lower your payments and/or reduce the total amount of interest paid. Re-balancing your debts can also result in tax deduction savings. Even if you are able to handle the payments and the amounts of your current debts, our expertise may be able to save you money and/or lower your payments.

Our experience with the taxation of United States companies doing business abroad and residents working abroad as well as foreign corporations doing business in the United States or foreign citizens working in the United States has provided us with an extensive base of knowledge in the area of international taxation.