How do you protect a parent who you think is being abused by the Trustee of a revocable trust or some other bad actor? You might think that your parent lacks capacity to manage their own financial affairs, or perhaps you think they are subject to undue influence and being manipulated. The problem with revocable trusts […]
After handling many hundreds of Trust and Will contest cases, we can tell you that disinheriting a child is not about the money. Well, it is about keeping money from them, but the child sees it as so much more. Distrust, betrayal, danger, a lack of love or approval; these are just some of the […]
Should I Fight My Relatives Over An Estate Even If It’s Worth Very Little? Probably not. There are two equally powerful issues you must consider when contesting an estate: (1) principal, and (2) money. By principal, I mean fighting for what is right, for what is just in your case. And of course, money simply means the […]
How Can I Go Through Probate With My Family Without Things Getting Hostile? That all depends on what you mean by “go through probate.” If you are referring to the probate of a Will (or the administration of an estate without a Will), then you may be able to get through the process by simply sticking […]
This is heartbreaking problem and is nearly impossible to fix after someone dies. Typically, the problem arises when someone creates a Will decades before death and sets out his wishes at that time. But over time he changes his mind and wants to leave the estate to different people. The decedent may even tell people he […]
My relative wrote their own Will and it’s being contested by family members who were left out, what should I do? Fight back. The fact that the Will was written by your relatives is not, in itself, grounds to contest the Will. Of course, that does not stop people from contesting it anyway. But to contest the Will, […]
Who should be notified when Probate begins in California and whose duty is it to notify them? Under California law, the entire world must be notified when probate begins in California, and it is the named executor’s job to do so, or the person filing to open probate. But how do you notify the world? It all […]
This is an important question that can be difficult to answer in a single article. There are a long list of duties that Executor’s have under California law, but they can be summed up using the categories below: Take Control of Estate Assets and Properly Manage Them The first job over any executor is to […]
The short answer is twelve to thirty-six months or more. But the specific answer varies widely based on the circumstances you confront in your case. It can take far longer than you like to resolve your Trust or Will litigation case. And there are a few factors that affect the length of your case. The […]
That all depends on what you mean by “probate.” In California, in fact in the entire United States, we operate under the so-called American system of litigation fees; meaning each party pays their own fees regardless of who wins the case. But there are a few exceptions. For example, if you have a contract that […]
