If you find your inheritance being reduced or eliminated and you want to take action to protect yourself in court, you may want to first consider California No Contest clauses. California Trusts and Wills often contain a no contest clause that states you will be disinherited if you challenge the terms of the Trust or
Effective oral arguments in court
I have seen many lawyers argue themselves OUT of a win by talking too much in court. The first rule of oral argument in court is that if you do not need to say anything because the judge is agreeing with you, then SHUT UP. You do yourself no service by re-hashing a point
Make your point: How to write a winning brief
How do you write a winning brief? Say what you are going to say, say it, and then say what you said. That is an old rule in writing and it applies to well written legal briefs also. The biggest problem with most written legal arguments is the length. As Winston Churchill once said
Quality Matters In California Trust And Will Contests
When exactly did we lose sight of quality? In our fast paced world, we often expect things (1) cheaply, and (2) quickly. That works great for fast food and cheap electronics, but not so well for professional services. If you need a heart transplant do you want the cheapest, fastest surgeon? Or would you
Family Dysfunction Takes a Different Approach: Adapt And Modify
When dealing with dysfunctional family relationships, you have to be ready to adapt and modify. In other words, be creative. Taking a hard stance and expecting others to “take it or leave it” is rarely a successful strategy when dealing with anybody—let alone dysfunctional relations.
Family Dysfunction Takes a Different Approach: Documentation
If you are dealing with a dysfunctional family relationship, there is going to be some misunderstandings along the way. Dysfunctional relationships do better with proper documentation. You may have a hard time communicating with dysfunctional family members, but the written word is much harder to refute than a game of he-said, she-said. In fact,
Family Dysfunction Takes a Different Approach: Communication
The problem underlying many Trust and Will disputes is bad family dynamics and dysfunctional family relationships. People just do not get along. And where there’s dysfunctional relationships, there’s misunderstandings galore.
If you are dealing with a dysfunctional relationship, you have to take a different approach. That approach begins with communication–easier said than done, I
How Do I Get What’s Rightfully Mine? California Trust and Will Lawsuits Can be a Real MESS
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That’s a loaded question. It all depends on how the asset you are seeking to recover was titled. Even though you, and probably your parent, thought that all assets were in one basket and you can simply file one document to get what is rightfully yours, you are mistaken (welcome to Trust and Will
A Family Affair: How the law complicates your family’s Trust and Will disputes
Trust and will disputes are confusing because the way you see your family and their assets can be very different from how the law sees it. You may see your family as one group of people related by blood. If one of your siblings is taking advantage of your parents, then you should be able
What Did You Expect??? Expectations of a trial lawyer in California Trust and Will Disputes
It has recently come to my attention that not everyone is accustomed to working with lawyers as part of their daily lives. That’s a shame since we are so wonderful to be around. Us lawyers are used to working with and around other lawyers, so we sometimes forget that not everyone is accustomed to our