CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers
Jim Cunningham is certified as a Legal Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization. He is an attorney at CunninghamLegal in Auburn, and Mr. Cunningham has exclusively focused on estate, trust, and probate-related cases since 2001.
Jim enjoys assisting clients by delivering Lifetime Estate Planning benefits. He spoke with us about why he refers clients to Placer Community Foundation.
“Sometimes we have clients who are charitably inclined but they don’t always know of the nonprofit organizations best suited to carry out the causes important to them. For this, I turn to the staff at PCF as probably the best and most reliable experts for local charities. They have the knowledge and experience to understand the nonprofits in our region.
“When people leave money to charity, they want the money to do the most good and frequently they want to have a positive impact for the longest time possible. That’s why I’ve sent several clients to PCF to consider establishing a named Charitable Fund within their estate plan. As the experts, PCF can help them figure out which charities would ultimately receive grants from this fund and they are in a trusted position to steward these funds for the long-term. Should a particular nonprofit cease to exist down the road, PCF is able to redirect grants to like organizations– always honoring the client’s intent.
“Coming from the Bay Area, I’ve worked with large foundations in the past. I am pleasantly surprised by what PCF has to offer. To find a well-established Community Foundation here, with such professional staff and a strong board, is amazing. In my opinion, PCF is essentially a big-city Foundation in a small town serving greater Placer County.”
Jim’s practice involves estate planning for people of all income and wealth levels and he spends a large amount of time helping elders by emphasizing long-term care medical planning and VA pension benefit planning. What drives him the most in his practice, as he tells it, is that he “Simply likes helping people, and when it comes to charitable giving, PCF is a good partner, because they can provide the kind of trusted, long-term management I want for my clients.”