In its simplest form, a Trust is merely the holding of money by a person for the benefit of someone else. When a friend hands you his wallet until he gets back, a Trust is formed. Trusts cannot be formed without property transferring from the hands of the owner to the hands of the Trustee. […]
Trust restatements allow a Settlor to replace the terms of a Trust without having to create a new Trust and transfer the title of all assets to the new Trust. In fact, it is the titling of assets that makes a restatement a much better approach in most cases. Restatements are used only when the […]
Fun fact: Trusts are not testamentary documents. That means Trusts do not have to follow all of the strict rules required to make a valid Will. Wills require a written document, signed by the decedent and witnessed by two witnesses…not so for Trusts. Trusts fall into a broad category of estate planning vehicles known as […]
Unlike Wills, you can have an enforceable Trust that is not written down—referred to as an oral Trust. The idea behind an oral Trust is that you can give property (other than real property) to someone as a “Trustee” and ask them to hold it in favor of a beneficiary. The problem, of course, is […]
Fun fact: Trusts are not testamentary documents. That means Trusts do not have to follow all of the strict rules required to make a valid Will. Wills require a written document, signed by the decedent and witnessed by two witnesses…not so for Trusts. Trusts fall into a broad category of estate planning vehicles known as […]
Language the English tricky can be. Many a Trust or Will has been litigated over the use of language. While the words may seem perfectly clear when written, circumstances can change, unforeseen events can occur, and misunderstandings can arise that lead to ambiguity in how a Trust or Will should be interpreted and enforced. Luckily, […]
When Trust or Will terms cannot be discerned by the way in which they were written, the court must follow the interpretation rules set out in the California Probate Code. One of those rules is found at Section 21121, which requires the Court to read the Trust or will document as a consistent whole. What […]
When a Court is asked to interpret a Trust or Will document, one of the primary rules of interpretation is Probate Code Section 21122, which requires that all words used in a Trust or Will be given their ordinary meaning. That seems like an obvious rule—shouldn’t all words be given their ordinary meaning? But funny […]
In our last post, we described California’s creation of Transfer-on-Death Deeds (“TOD Deeds”). And while TOD Deeds could prove a useful tool when used properly in estate planning, they also can lead to additional problems and headaches. So what action must you take if you fall victim to a bad TOD Deed? TOD Deeds fall […]
It can be hard to convince and judge or jury to rule in your favor unless you have a good back-story. That means a good reason why someone would have left you assets had they not been unduly influenced. In this video, partner Keith A. Davidson describes the need for a good story to go […]
