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
Litigation
California Trust and Will Beneficiaries have a Right to Information
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. …
Abused Beneficiaries: We explain our view of an abused California Trust and Will beneficiary
California Trust and Will beneficiaries are subject to abuse in some cases at the hands of a rogue Trustee. This video explains our view of an abused beneficiary. It is important to acknowledge these cases and we fight hard to help beneficiaies who are abused. For those viewing this blog by email subscription, you can…
Joint Tenancy Bank Accounts: The pitfalls of using joint tenancy in California estate planning
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Meet Albertson & Davidson, LLP: Why we practice law as California Trust, Estate and Probate litigtion lawyers
This video post is our informal discussion of why we practice law. It is important for us to know our purpose in practicing law. In fact, we put our purpose on the first page of our website, and we talk about it constantly. For those viewing this blog by email subscription, you can click…
A Trial Lawyer’s Journey from Fat to Fit–And My Favorite Fitness Gurus
In April 2009 I weighed 216 pounds. I’m 6’1” so I didn’t consider myself to be overweight. In fact, at this time, I was riding my road bike 60 to 90 miles per week, and even competed in the L.A./Kaiser triathlon the year before. But my diet was terrible. I ate way too much food—including…
Tired of the Retirement Mess: How Failing to Plan for Retirement Accounts = Planning For Litigation in Your Estate
If your goal is to help keep lawyers employed (and that’s an excellent thing to do in my opinion), then do not change your beneficiary forms on your retirement accounts when you do your estate planning.
By retirement accounts, I mean things like 401(k), 403(b), Pension, and IRA type accounts to name a few. These…
Marital Rights Without Marriage — How Nonmarital Partners May Receive a Share of a Deceased Partner’s Estate Based Upon an Oral Promise Before Death
One of my first litigation cases was against attorney Thomas W. Dominick in San Bernardino County Probate Court. Tom is one of the best estate and trust litigators in California. To say the least, I was scared. The issue in that case revolved around whether my client had a right to his girlfriend’s real property after…
“Ordinary” Attorney’s Fees and “Extraordinary” Attorney’s Fees in Probate
Marc Alexander’s and William M. Hensley’s outstanding blog on California attorney’s fees recently commented on Estate of Fernandez, where Justice O’Leary discussed the difference between “ordinary” and “extraordinary” attorney’s fees in the probate arena.
So, what is the difference between “ordinary” and “extraordinary” attorney’s fees that you pay an attorney to “probate” your loved…