If you want to understand Trusts, you need to have a solid grasp on the terminology. One of the first things a person needs to understand about Trusts is the difference between a Trustee and a Trust beneficiary. When a Trust is created, it becomes its own legal entity. A Trust can only operate through […]
When parties attend mediation and enter into a settlement agreement, sometimes they develop an uncomfortable feeling when they wake up the next morning that they were coerced into settling by the opposing party, the mediator, or their own attorney. Is it possible to overturn a settlement agreement you entered into at mediation? Can litigants overturn […]
Mediation seems to confuse a lot of people. But really a mediation is just a settlement conference. During mediation, parties in a lawsuit and their attorneys sit down with a neutral third-party mediator. Mediators are usually retired judges. The mediator goes back and forth between the parties and tries to help the parties broker a […]
How long should you wait for a Trust accounting? After the Trust creators (also called “Settlors”) pass away, beneficiaries can expect to wait between six months to one year for an accounting from the Trustee. The time frame depends on the nature of the assets and the terms of the Trust. A Trust accounting is […]
Some Trustees ask beneficiaries to sign a waiver of accounting before making Trust distributions. Occasionally, if there are multiple beneficiaries, some of the beneficiaries may be happy to waive a formal accounting, while one beneficiary refuses. What happens if one of the beneficiaries refuses to sign a waiver of accounting? If one beneficiary refuses to […]
Sometimes there is a disconnect between lawyers and clients on how likely they believe the case is to succeed, and the monetary value of the case. Why? Litigants typically don’t think of their case in terms of monetary value. Litigants think of their case as a set of bad, often hurtful facts that led them […]
What do you do when a trustee refuses to give you the financial documents you are entitled to as a beneficiary? Isn’t the trustee required to give you financial information? The answer is simple: YES. The trustee has a duty to keep beneficiaries reasonably informed about the trust administration and assets. If you request financial […]
Many people aren’t familiar with our court system and how lawsuits work. For that reason, we wrote a book called Your Lawsuit. This book is an overview of the general litigation process in California. This book walks you through the different phases of your lawsuit. Below is a brief overview of the phases of a […]
You’re entitled to a distribution and you should receive it within a reasonable time. Typically, trust beneficiaries expect to receive their inheritance in a year or less, depending on the complexities of the estate. Dealing with a Non-Compliant Trustee What happens when your Trustee won’t follow the terms of the Trust? Why aren’t they following […]
Are you having a hard time receiving your inheritance? You are a named beneficiary of a trust and you are entitled to an inheritance. You should just be handed your share of the money… right? Yet a year has passed, maybe several… and you still have not received your inheritance. Why is it so hard […]
