Beneficiaries should not have to take court action to enforce their rights under a Trust, but so often they do have to take action. Even though a beneficiary has no duties, they do have the burden on enforcing their rights when a Trustee refuses to do the right thing. In this video, partner Keith Davidson […]
Can a Trust beneficiary live rent free in a real property owned by the Trust? How about the Trustee who is also a beneficiary, can he or she live in real property rent free? The answer is no, but then again maybe. Wait this sounds confusing, so let’s break it down a bit. While the […]
Sibling rivalry is alive and well. Especially when it comes to inheritance fights. There’s a lot of psychology involved in this business. I don’t claim to be a psychologist or therapist, but I have a great dealing of experience watching people deal with siblings—both successfully and disastrously. And, of course, every situation and every person […]
Under California Probate Code section 21700 a Decedent can make an enforceable oral contract to make a California Will or California Trust. Here’s how this situation usually arises. There is an older family member—we’ll call him Tom—who needs some additional care for the last few years of his life. Tom reaches out to his best […]
Although it is difficult to remove a Bay Area Trustee for breach of trust, it can be done. I explain further in the video below on the reasons California law allows a probate court to remove a bad acting Trustee.
What happens when the Trustee of your parents’ Trust treats you poorly? Perhaps the Trustee does not return your phone calls, or he/she doesn’t give you copies of the Trust, or he/she refuses to provide you any information about the Trust assets. What is a trust beneficiary to do under these difficult circumstances? Albertson & […]
Let’s face it, lawyers have bad reputations, including being greedy opportunists, lazy, driving sports cars, and not really caring about their clients’ needs. I think part of that has to do with the surrounding circumstances—almost always bad—when it comes to hiring a lawyer. But our not so good reputations also come from not properly setting […]
I get calls every week from Bay Area Trust, Last Will, and Estate beneficiaries complaining that they can’t get their brother or sister, who is the Trustee and Executor of their parents’ estate plan, to provide copies of the parents’ estate plan after the parents have died. In response to these calls, I usually suggest […]
While it’s not easy to remove a Bay Area Trustee, California law does allow a Trustee to be removed. I discuss the areas under California law where a bad acting or unqualified Trustee may be removed.
We’ve used the term “abused trust beneficiary” to define beneficiaries who are being mistreated by a Trustee or Executor of a Bay Area Trust or Will. Most abused trust beneficiaries feel helpless to respond to the poor treatment by Trustees and Executors. In the video below, I explain how you can hold Trustees and Executors […]
