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
Clear and Convincing–The Higher Standard for Dislodging Joint Bank Accounts After Death
Joint accounts—the most confusing asset in the estate planning word. Especially joint bank accounts. They start off relatively harmless with a parent naming one of their children as a joint account holder to help pay bills and manage finances. But rather than add a child only as an agent over the account (which would expire
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
The Empty Will: Why a California Will or Trust May Not Control Your Assets after Death.
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
Which Will Wins the Race? The Documents Required For a Proper Will Contest Lawsuit.
There is an old saying in the law that goes “first in time, first in right.” For Wills, the opposite is true—last in time, last in right. Typically the last valid Will wins. But what if the last Will is not valid? That could allow an earlier Will to apply instead. And it is this
The Trust and Will Shell Game: The Who, What, When, Where, and Why of Contesting California Trusts and Wills
Trust and Will litigation is a bit of a shell game. You remember the shell game, where a pea is placed under one of three shells and then the shells are re-sorted as quickly as possible so as to lose track of which shell has the pea. The observer is then asked to pick the
Legal Lasagna: Building Your Case One Layer At A Time
In an earlier blog post, I shared a handout we give our clients so that they will know what to expect in their lawsuit. All lawsuits are different, but there is one thing you can count on in every lawsuit: uncertainty. A case can go from looking good, to looking bad, to looking good