Attorney

CHRISTOPHER CARICO

Name: Vikk Ai
Telephone: +1
Price range: $$

Partner at Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP

Manhattan Beach, California

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Specialties & Experience

Estate Planning

About CHRISTOPHER CARICO

Over my 35-year practice I’ve seen some of the thorniest trust and estate challenges for high-net-worth individuals. I am known as a problem solver; I don’t give up until I find a solution. I chose estate planning for two reasons: I can help clients with difficult situations, and I love the complexity of the tax code. It is a puzzle waiting to be solved. Halfway through my career I learned to litigate to help the rest of the clients’ estate problems–defending their interests against attacks. Now, I’m one of a limited number of California lawyers who are as comfortable drafting complex estate plans as we are cross-examining witnesses in the courtroom. I pride myself on finding solutions where others see intractable problems. I have been a “Board-Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law,” for 30 years. My plans for well-to-do families can withstand microscopic scrutiny. Most litigators are big-picture, “forest” people. As a planner/tax person, I also see the trees. Estate litigation is diplomacy and details―the tax code is as complicated and nuanced as families. But no one knows the pieces better than we do, which enables us to find solutions that others can’t. My clients are executives and entrepreneurs, business leaders and professional athletes, banks and private fiduciaries, parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, and grandchildren. They seek to keep their assets in the family, protect their wealth from greedy outsiders, and reduce the government’s tax bite as they pass their wealth to the next generation. We find solutions. For example, in one high-profile case, to achieve a just result, we persuaded a judge that the generic word “grandchild” in the trust documents didn’t mean EVERY grandchild. In another, we represented all the heirs of a wealthy, irascible gentleman (with a proclivity for holding properties under aliases). To save a dollar, decedent created a chaotic do-it-yourself Trust. If left unchanged, the irrevocable trust caused enormous tax problems and disinherited his entire family. We devised an ingenious solution modifying the trust through court proceeding that neutralized the tax problem, and secured the family’s inheritance. Superficially, we look like a small firm. Look deeper. Our experience rivals the private wealth departments of national law firms, with a more user-friendly size and service model. I’m really proud of our firm's capabilities. If you have $5M-$500 million in assets, our firm is designed specifically for you. I’d be honored if you’d call me.

Location & Contact

Manhattan Beach, California

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