One of the most obvious features of a revocable living Trust is that you can revoke it. It’s right there in the name “revocable Trust.” But you can also amend a revocable Trust because, for a long time, California courts have interpreted the power to revoke (which means to entirely do away with a Trust)
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The Empty Will: Why a California Will or Trust May Not Control Your Assets after Death.
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Posted in Estate Planning
You may think that a California Will or Trust controls the distribution of all your assets after your death. You may be surprised to learn just how meaningless a Will or Trust can be depending on how your assets are titled.
When a person is alive, his assets are viewed as belonging to him. When…
Ninth Circuit Rules in Favor of Admitting Statements of a Decedent at Trial
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Posted in Litigation, Trust & Will Contests
Objection, hearsay! We hear that term “hearsay” all the time—in the movies, on T.V., and in real life court proceedings. The idea behind the “hearsay” rule, which prevents certain statements and documents from being admitted as evidence, is that not everything people say is reliable or even truthful (imagine that). As straightforward as that rule…
The Rule of Revocation: How to Revoke a California Will or Trust
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Posted in Trust Amendment & Revocation
We spend a great deal of our time as Trust and Will lawyers pleading with people to create a Will or a Trust as part of their estate plan. But we rarely discuss how to get rid of those documents if the need ever arises. The process, called “revocation,” can be a bit more difficult…
Top 11 Posts for 2011 on Albertson & Davidson’s Law Blog
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Posted in Tips
We posted over 100 blog articles in 2011. While we enjoy writing each of them, there are a few favorites we have over the course of the year. Each of the posts that made our top 11 list was also very popular with readers based on comments and feedback we received. Here is a list…
Are Your Gifts Taxable? The Tax Result of Making California Gifts
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Posted in Estate & Gift Tax
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kate Ashford, a freelance journalist who occasionally writes “The Help Desk” column for CNNMoney online. Her question was a common one: how are gifts taxed? There is a lot of confusion on how gifts are taxed, and to whom they are taxed. Here’s a few…
California No Contest Clauses: The confusion continues
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Posted in No Contest Clauses, Videos
In January 2010, California once again changed the law of No-Contest clauses in an attempt to make the area easy to apply. Hard to say if that goal was accomplished. In this video we discuss some of the basics of California No-Contest clauses. For those viewing this blog by email subscription, you can click on…
Trustee Removal: A discussion of the challenges in removing a California Trustee
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Posted in Trustee Removal, Videos
Our latest video post provides a discussion of the challenges faced by a beneficiary in trying to remove a Trustee of a California Trust. For those of you viewing this blog post by email subscription, you can click on the title for a link to the video.
Trust Investing: A California Trustee’s duty to invest assets prudently
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Posted in Litigation, Trust Administration
California Trustees, Executors and Conservators have a legal duty to manage assets conservatively and “prudently.” The rules are set out in the California Probate Code under the Uniform Prudent Investor Act. In this video we have a brief discussion of Trust investing. For those viewing this blog by email subscription, you can click on…
California Trust and Will Beneficiaries have a Right to Information
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Posted in Beneficiary, Litigation
Every beneficiary of a California Trust and Will has a basic right to information. They have a right to see the Trust or Will document(s), they have a right to asset information, they have a right to full disclosure. Yet not every Trustee or Executor complies with requests for information. This video describes a beneficiary’s basic right to information. …