Corliss Law Groups

Moelis & Company was founded in July 2007 by Wall Street veteran Ken Moelis and a number of his partners. The team sought to create a partnership that offered a better way of investment banking, with a focus on long-term client relationships.

Moelis & Company opened for business in New York and Los Angeles and immediately began advising clients on a number of large and complex transactions. These mandates led the firm to be a top 10 ranked M&A advisor in the U.S. in our first full year of operations. During this time, Moelis Capital Partners began raising capital for what would become an approximately $800 million private equity business.

Building on our early momentum, we added leading talent with diverse product and industry expertise and opened several offices, expanding globally into London, Sydney, Dubai, Hong Kong, Beijing, Frankfurt, Mumbai and Paris and adding regional capabilities in the U.S. via offices in Boston, Chicago, Houston and Palo Alto. We developed new product offerings to meet the changing needs of our clients, and in 2008 we formed our Recapitalization & Restructuring Group, a team that is now ranked the No. 6 Restructuring Advisor globally1. We also launched our Capital Markets and Risk Advisory businesses and formed an Equities business in Australia. In order to offer our institutional clients additional investment solutions, we added to our asset management capabilities with the 2010 acquisition of Gracie Asset Management, a leading multi strategy credit manager, and the 2012 acquisition of Freeport Financial, an investment manager that provides financing solutions to middle market companies.

Moelis & Company has won accolades for our client focus and innovation, including being named Most Innovative Independent Investment Bank in 2013, Most Innovative Boutique in 2010 and 2011 and Most Innovative Investment Bank for Asset and Liability Management in 2011 by The Banker, as well as being named Best Global Independent Investment Bank by Euromoney Magazine in 2010. Today, we serve our clients with 600 employees in 14 offices globally. We will continue to grow our firm opportunistically across products, sectors and geographies to deliver the most relevant advice and innovative solutions to our clients.

What If You Already Have a Business Entity?

When we are involved in the original business planning and choice of entity, our engagement often involves an initial Risk Assessment of the areas of risk that your business will most likely be subject to. These risks can involve business processes, record keeping, reporting, compliance procedures, economic and capital structure, labor structure, procedures and compensation, insurance coverage, and a number of other issues. The purpose of this Risk Assessment is to attempt to anticipate risk exposure and assist in providing structure, processes and safeguards to eliminate, minimize, or prepare for such risks.

If we have not participated in the original planning, were not asked to initially conduct that review, or after any business has been operating for a while, we offer a Business Review and Audit Package which includes a Risk Assessment. This process allows us “audit” and assess the choice of entity, whether conditions have changed, and the common risk areas and exposure brought about by the way the business is operating. We offer several Review Packages priced to accommodate the needs of any business.

The Business Review Process parallels the steps of the Entity Choice and Formation Process. In general the necessary information is gathered, reviewed and evaluated and a report presenting our findings, along with recommendations for changes, a timeline and the price of our services to design and implement the recommended changes.

Gathering the Estate

During our first phone call we try to gain a basic understanding of your particular situation and concerns. We'll explain our planning process and set a specific time to meet with you. We'll send you our Confidential Information Packet, which includes:

• A confirmation letter confirming the date and time of our meeting
• Directions to our firm’s offices
• An explanation of the planning process ahead
• Basic information about our firm
• A checklist of the documents we would like you to bring to our meeting

Initial Visit and Evaluation

During our initial visit we ask you to share some of your background and history so we can get a good understanding of where you are right now and what’s most important to you and we will talk to you about your concerns and goals. During this discussion we come to a deeper understanding of your family dynamics, your unique needs, and your desires. We will take the time to answer all of your questions regarding the particulars of the law as it relates to your family and estate. Based on what we learn in these conversations, we will outline our recommendations and process, including our price to do this work and both your and our responsibilities.

Continue Reading

The answer and the reasons are not what you probably think, mainly because there is a misconception by many that estate planning is about death, you know transferring property when we die.  It does involve that, but it is much, much more.

A good estate plan helps you to organize your life around the things that are the most important to you. It is about protecting your assets, providing security for your family and helping you to accumulate wealth toward your retirement. It is about providing for your children when they are young and beyond, providing for you and your spouse during health, in retirement and during any years that you may need care.  Those are things we all need, even if we don’t yet have a lot of property.

So the answer to the Question of “Who Really Needs An Estate Plan?” is Everyone!

Wills.  A simple estate plan might involve just a simple Will.  A Will is a legal document that tells those you leave behind who you want to take care of your children, who you want to be your conservator if you become unable to take care of yourself and who you want to receive your property on death.

Probate. In general most people know that Probate is public and expensive, and something to be avoided.  Many have the misconception that if they have a Will, they can avoid probate.  That is not true. In fact a Will only becomes effective on death and it has to be probated to be effective.  So if a will doesn’t avoid probate what does?

Trusts. A Trust avoids probate so long as it is funded. While a Will is only effective on death, most Trusts are effective when they are set up and funded.  They are effective now, not later on death and if properly established can avoid probate, but even Trusts have their problems.  One of the biggest mistakes I see with Trusts is that they are often not funded and a trust is only effective for property that is in the Trust.

The lesson is really that a Trust and the estate plan that it is a part of are not static; they are in fact dynamic and should be monitored annually to make sure that all the property they are to control is in fact placed in them and also to make sure that there has not been any changes in the lives of the Trustors (the ones who set up the trust).  Since a good plan aligns with the family needs, goals and objectives, it must be adjusted as the goals and objectives of the family change and as the laws change.

Trusts are workhorses.  They manage not only the property of the Trustors, but they designate who is going to be on your “team” if anything happens to you.  For example, statistically if you are a 40 year old male, the risk of a disability of 90 or more days before you turn 65 is 43%.[i] Such disability may also include a loss of capacity, or the ability to make decisions on your own behalf.  Having a clear set of instructions in place in the event that happens and having someone to immediately step in and take over until you recover, is very important.  A revocable living Trust can do just that.

Health. An estate plan includes a whole list of documents, some of the most important of which are your health related documents.  Where a Trust governs who makes property decisions for you in the event your are unable to do so for yourself, you must have an Advanced Health Care Directive (California) or a medical power of attorney and HIPPA waivers, to appoint a medical agent to direct your treatment and care if you are not able to do so yourself.

Summary. Those are just some of the basic elements in a foundational estate plan.  Beyond the basics there are many more advanced issues involving minimizing transfer and income taxes, charitable planning and gifting, private foundations, family business structures, and assuring that the legacy of your life (including your property, your values, your beliefs, etc.) are preserved and passed on to your chosen heirs.

Counselor Newsletters

01/08 Planning For Pets

02/08 Buy Sell Planning

03/08 Zero Bracket

04/08 Planning For Unmarried Couples

05/08 Planning for Long-Term Care

06/08 Income Tax Planning

07/08 Non-Qualified Compensation

08/08 1035 Insurance Policy Exchanges

09/08 Captive Insurance Companies 

10/08 Final Expense Trust

11/08 New FIDIC Rules

12/08 Year End Planning

01/09 Employer Recovery Act

02/09 Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rates

03/09 Creative Trust Planning

04/09 Benefits Stimulas Act

05/09 Educational Savings Vehicles

06/09 IRS Dirty Dozen

Wealth Advisor Newsletters

01/01 New Law Exciting Planning Opportunities

02/01 Planning for Disability

03/01 Understanding Trusts

01/02 Planning for Pets

02/02 Zero Bracket Need for Life Insurance 

03/02 Portability

04/02 New FIDIC Rules

01/03 Planning You Should Consider

02/03 Understanding the New Economic Stimulus Law

Source

Counselor Newsletters

01/08 Planning For Pets

02/08 Buy Sell Planning

03/08 Zero Bracket

04/08 Planning For Unmarried Couples

05/08 Planning for Long-Term Care

06/08 Income Tax Planning

07/08 Non-Qualified Compensation

08/08 1035 Insurance Policy Exchanges

09/08 Captive Insurance Companies 

10/08 Final Expense Trust

11/08 New FIDIC Rules

12/08 Year End Planning

01/09 Employer Recovery Act

02/09 Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rates

03/09 Creative Trust Planning

04/09 Benefits Stimulas Act

05/09 Educational Savings Vehicles

06/09 IRS Dirty Dozen

Wealth Advisor Newsletters

01/01 New Law Exciting Planning Opportunities

02/01 Planning for Disability

03/01 Understanding Trusts

01/02 Planning for Pets

02/02 Zero Bracket Need for Life Insurance 

03/02 Portability

04/02 New FIDIC Rules

01/03 Planning You Should Consider

02/03 Understanding the New Economic Stimulus Law

Source

Wealth Preservation is the unification of your efforts to protect and plan for your estate, your business and your assets, but it is much more than the sum of its parts.  It is the symphony, the unified and seamless plan that orders the outside context of your life, so your pursuits, life events and transitions are as smooth and harmonious as possible.  Wealth Preservation Planning is comprised of a number of disciplines, but most importantly Estate Planning, Business Planning, Asset Protection Planning, and Financial Planning.  It also involves the efforts the combined efforts of a team of trusted advisors working together as a Collaborative Team to build a unified plan.  At Corliss, A Law Corporation, we are dedicated to that goal.

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