The tangled web of litigation can cause some pretty funny alliances at times. Emily Green of the Daily Journal reported on February 28, 2013 that the estate of Mark R. Hughes, founder of Hebalife, Ltd., who died in 2000, is still being litigated in the appellate court. The latest turn of events comes
In Trusts we Trust: When should you create a Trust in California?
I have heard it a million times before: “I don’t need a Trust because ____________” you fill in the blank: I don’t have enough money, I won’t care when I’m dead, California probate is easy, my wife and I own everything in joint tenancy…there’s many, many excuses and misinformation regarding Trusts in California.
In California
Lock the Gates a Fortune Awaits–California Appellate Court clarifies “Prohibited Transferee” law
1. The Law of Prohibited Transferees
If you’re like me, you would think that lawyers who draft Wills shouldn’t add themselves as beneficiaries (“I leave my entire estate to my beloved son…lawyer”). Unfortunately, a few bad apples ruin the bunch, and a few bad lawyers disagreed with my opening sentence. Thanks to them, we
Pardon Our Probate Fees: Written Fee Agreement Not Required for Payment of Probate Attorneys’ Fees
Lawyers have rules that we must follow (no, seriously we do), and one of them is that any engagement where we estimate the fees to the client will exceed $1,000 must be documented by a written fee agreement—sometimes called retainer agreement or engagement agreement. See Bus. & Prof. Code Section 6148. The California Court
The Settlor Made Me Do It: Part 2, California Supreme Court Overturns Appellate Decision
It’s an exciting time to be a Trust and Will litigation lawyer. Our California Supreme Court recently handed down an opinion on a very pivotal area of Trust litigation—Trustee liability. Last October we wrote about the case entitled Estate of William Giraldin, where the Fourth District Court of Appeal held that beneficiaries of a
Top 12 Post of 2012 on Albertson & Davidson’s Law Blog
Another year is in the books, and on the web for us thanks to our blog. We wrote quite a few articles again this year, but there are a few stand-outs among them. The following list represents our twelve most popular articles (and our personal favorites too):
Trustee: Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Collect $200
The California Court of Appeal (Sixth District) has clarified when a Trustee’s compensation can be limited in Thorpe vs. Reed, decided this month. Thorpe involved a special needs trust that had be created for Danny Reed, who had been the victim of two separate auto accidents. Danny’s mother, Jolaine Allen, was initially appointed the
Beware of the Greedy Heir
Want to know why beneficiaries lose Trust and Will cases? They fall prey to the “greedy heir” defense. The greedy heir defense goes like this: a beneficiary challenges the wrongful acts of a Trustee and the Trustee responds by saying the beneficiary is just greedy. Or an heir who has been disinherited challenges a Trust
The Tools of War Part Two: How to gather the ammunition necessary for a battle in Probate Court
In our last post we set out three general categories of information you need to know to be successful in trust and will litigation. They were:
- Civil procedure—things like motions and demurrers
- Civil discovery—written discovery, depositions, and expert designations
- Rules of evidence—including foundation, hearsay, relevance, etc.
Civil procedure we discussed. Now let’s tackle civil
Transferring Wealth to Generation X-Box
To be honest I have lost track of how we refer to different generations. I know baby-boomers and generation X, I’ve heard tell of generation Y, but I’m lost after that. So let’s just call everyone under age 21 as of now “generation X-Box.” How do you deal with the transfer of wealth to generation