Leaving a Legacy: Estate Planning Basics [VIDEO RECORDING]

Your estate is made up of the assets of your hard work and the items that you cherish. From your home and family heirlooms to your retirement and life insurance plans—all of these assets are what you will leave behind for the people and places you love. Have you decided how your assets will be cared for after your lifetime? Making those decisions in advance is known as “estate planning.”

In this webinar recording, guest speakers David Wheeler Newman and Janice Burrill, two of the finest estate planning experts in the region, walk you through the basics of the estate planning process. In an informative and engaging conversation, moderated by PBS SoCal | KCET’s own Val Zavala, our speakers provide the tools and information you need to jumpstart your own plans.

Val Zavala

Val retired in 2018 after thirty years as a journalist, producer and executive producer at KCET, public television for Southern California. At KCET she anchored SoCal Connected and Life & Times among many other programs, winning 19 LA Area Emmy Awards. She also won a prestigious Walter Cronkite Excellence in Journalism award for her popular 1-minute ballot proposition explainers.

Val has been a member of our Board since 2018 and is a PBS SoCal | KCET Legacy Society Member.

David Wheeler Newman, JD, LLM

PARTNER, MITCHELL SILBERBERG & KNUPP LLP

David Wheeler Newman is a senior partner of the Los Angeles law firm Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp, LLP where he oversees the tax practice and chairs the firm’s charitable sector practice group. Mr. Newman represents individuals and families on estate planning and tax planning in connection with investment activities and philanthropy, and advises charitable organizations concerning governance, tax exemption and charitable gift planning programs.

A third generation Angeleno, Mr. Newman is a co-founder and President Emeritus of New Roads School in Santa Monica and served on the board of Step Up on Second. He was one of the organizers, and continues as pro bono general counsel, of Farhang Foundation, the premier Iranian cultural organization in Southern California. He has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America as 2013 Los Angeles Tax Lawyer of the Year and 2015 Los Angeles Nonprofit/Charities Lawyer of the Year. Mr. Newman was honored by the Los Angeles County Bar Association in 2012 with the Dana Latham Award for outstanding contributions to the community and legal profession in the field of taxation.

Mr. Newman earned his BA in political science and economics from Claremont McKenna College, his JD from UCLA School of Law and his LLM (Tax) from New York University School of Law.

Janice H. Burrill, J.D., CAP

JB Consulting

Janice Burrill has worked and volunteered in the philanthropic arena for over 30 years. Following several years practicing law in two large international law firms, she held positions as Director of Planned Giving at Loyola Marymount University and as National Director of Wells Fargo’s Philanthropic Services. Since retiring from Wells Fargo, she consults with public charities, individuals, and wealth planning professionals on various charitable opportunities. She has served on many charitable boards, including the National Committee on Planned Giving (now CGP), WISE & Healthy Aging and the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation and is past President of Planned Giving Roundtable where she chaired the Western Regional Planned Giving Conference. She currently sits on the Boards of the Southern California Council of Charitable Gift Planners, Ramona Convent Secondary School, Ignatians West, and HelpGuide, as well as on the Development Committees of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and the Catholic Community Foundation of Los Angeles.

Janice received a B.S. in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University and her J.D. from Loyola Law School. She is also a Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP). She is an active speaker within the philanthropic sector and participated in the first-ever White House Conference on Philanthropy