Welcome Jeff Serota & Dan Graham
-by Jim Hallett
It was Monday, January 11, 2021, and President Tim Hageman called upon Hilary Mahan to lead the Pledge and to share her thoughts about the words of the namesake of the upcoming Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Rev. King preached the power of love, advising us to persevere, not to hate, to serve others, to forgive, to stand up for justice, to have faith, and to recognize that nothing is impossible……President Tim showed us a video remembrance of Tommy Lasorda, whose love of baseball and the Dodgers was irresistible…..We welcomed to membership in the Club Jeff Serota, sponsored by Rich Montgomery, and Dan Graham, sponsored by Dave Gendron, bringing us up to a total membership of 110.
Mystery Rotarian Vinny Fazzino
Vinny Fazzino was our Mystery Rotarian, correctly guessed by a plurality of members after these hints: He was camping with friends and they were escorted out of state by the Border Patrol. He got 3 speeding tickets in 3 states in one day. He rescued a dog in the Mojave Desert. He drove from Connecticut to California in 41 hours. He has suffered 9 sports injuries. Thus exposed, Vinny gave us a brief background on himself. He started as a plumber, owning his own business at age 22 and launching his own corporation at age 27. At one point he had up to 200 employees. He now has a small construction company serving a 10-mile radius. He is a licensed general contract and engineer, focused on residential work and enjoying creating vertical landscaping. He has experience with vocational training—he is, for example, a scuba instructor. He is planning Rotary involvement in teaching business skills to young people.
Jennifer Honey: Estate Planning
Jim Schlager introduced Manhattan Beach resident and businesswoman Jennifer Honey, an estate planning attorney. Jennifer covered some specific topics:
- Prop. 19: This will affect the way property owners choose to hold property. People over 55 can now carry over their property tax assessed basis up to three times and across county lines across California, up to the amount of the fair market value of the new home. But there is now a reduced property tax incentive to keep properties in the family line—for example, when passing the family home onto the children, property owners can only carry over the property tax assessed basis up to $1 million value and only if the children make it their primary residence. Property tax exemptions for transfers to our kids of rentals, commercial properties or raw land are now fully reassessed.
- Estate Taxes: The exemption has been rising over the years by legislation, with cost of living increases tacked on. So now, for example, a married couple can exempt up to $20 million ($10 million each) plus cost of living. But this amount is halved effective 2026, and Jennifer cautions that this decrease may be moved forward by legislation as Covid expenses increase government spending.
- Updating Estate Plans: Periodically update your nominees for powers of attorney and successor trustees (consider nominating a licensed, bonded professional). Review the provisions for triggering a trustee takeover of selected tasks. Do a periodic attorney consult to update your overall plan.
- Gift Tax on Transfers of Property: Such transfers receive very favorable tax treatment for now. But Jennifer strongly cautions against transferring property to children too early, especially when such property is a large chunk of your estate—you may well need the asset value later.
- IRS Business Audits: The IRS ability to audit partnerships and corporations has been made easier by 2017 legislation, which allows the IRS to go after the entity rather than just the individuals in it.
Vaccinations
After the meeting, Rich Montgomery updated us on the Manhattan Beach vaccination plan. The City has a contract for an estimated 14,000 vaccines, available to all County residents. Still to be determined is where and when, although late January is the estimated time. Also undecided is whether to provide 2 vaccines to 7000 people or 1 vaccine to 14,000 people. There will be signups after the high priority people are vaccinated (already happening for medical personnel, nursing home residents, first responders, and teachers). Signups will be administered by the City. Rich hopes to be able to give us advance notice of the signup times, so that we don’t have to be constantly checking the City website for this. People who sign up will be prioritized by guidelines. The shots are free.
Rotary Family
Before the meeting, Dick Chase told us that his wife Harriet is ill with Covid, but she is, thankfully, getting slowly better. Dick shared with us his concerns about the proper protocols for home care, from ventilation to disinfectants to everything in between. Jason Wallace shared with us an MIT link for studies and guidance: https://indoor-covid-safety.herokuapp.com/. President Tim rightfully assured Dick that he and his family are in our thoughts and prayers. As Jan Rhees so often says, this is the Rotary Family.