If you went to the trouble to create a California estate plan that includes a revocable Trust, durable power of attorney for financial assets, and a healthcare directive, you probably have a capacity provision in each of these documents. The capacity provision says that your successor Trustee or successor agent (under the durable power of
California’s Wheels of Justice Move Slowly…er
If you are not around the Court system very often you may not realize the absolute financial crisis affecting our judicial system, especially in California. Services that were once considered basic Court services are now unaffordable luxuries—such as enough Courtrooms, Judges, and staff to properly run the Court system. Filing fees have skyrocketed, the number
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
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
The Mystery Amendment…Powers of Appointment
Did you know that amending a California Trust is not the only way to “amend” a Trust? Sounds like a riddle, but it’s actually a concept known as a “power of appointment.”
A Trust amendment is a simple way to change a California revocable Trust. And an amendment can change any part of the Trust
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
The Tools of War: How to arm yourself with knowledge for a battle in Probate Court
If you’re going to do battle in Probate Court do you need to know more about Trusts and Wills or more about litigation? The obvious answer is you need to know about both. And while knowing about Trusts and Wills is critical, knowing a thing or two about civil litigation is also a must.
For example
Passing (Assets) Interference…10 Yard Penalty: California Recognizes New Claim in Trust and Will Law!
It’s not everyday that the California Court of Appeals hands down new law in the area of trusts and wills. Most of our laws and rules in this area have been in place for centuries.
This month, however, the Fourth Appellate District recognized a new claim for California beneficiaries called “Intentional Interference with Expected Inheritance” (referred
Power to Amend a California Trust NOT the Same as the Power to Revoke
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)