Contingency fee agreements give some beneficiaries access to legal representation when they otherwise would not have sufficient funds to pay a lawyer on an hourly basis. Typically, lawyers are paid based on their hourly rate. A lawyer will work so many hours a month on your case, and you pay them monthly based on that hourly […]
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Under California financial elder abuse law, you must prove four elements to establish undue influence: (1) vulnerability of the victim, (2) apparent authority of the wrongdoer, (3) actions and tactics of the wrongdoer, and (4) an inequitable result. Two of these elements stand out over the rest: vulnerability and actions and tactics. Actions and tactics refers […]
Being named a successor Trustee does not necessarily obligate you to take action. While it is true that Trustees have a host of duties and responsibilities, those duties don’t arise until a Trustee agrees to act. Being named a successor Trustee in a Trust document does not obligate that person to act. If, however, the successor Trustee either […]
The most difficult undue influence cases in California occurs when you want to take action while your parent is still alive. You may believe that your parent is being victimized by a wrongdoer through the use of undue influence, but taking action is complicated. We refer to these cases as the difficult, can’t miss undue influence […]
Every Trust and Will contest requires sufficient evidence to present in court. And if you are the contesting party, then it is your burden to meet the burden of proof required by California law. That means you have the burden to go out and find evidence to support your claims. There are three sources of documents […]
You ask for it. Well let’s assume that you have already asked for a copy and someone says no. Then it all depends on whether your mom or dad is still alive, and whether you are a beneficiary of the Trust. For starters, if your parents create a revocable, living Trust during their lifetimes and they are […]
Some firms say their goal is to be (or become) the “premier firm” in whatever field they happen to practice. I think this is a terrible goal, and I’ve never really understood it. How do you know if you’re the “premier” firm, what does “premier” even mean? That’s not our goal. The problem with wanting to be […]
As lawyers, we have heard many people tell us their version of events that led up to a wrongly created Trust or Will. And one of the main issues we try to determine is whether there are facts to support an undue influence claim. Overturning a Will or Trust based on undue influence is not so […]
It can be hard to distinguish between influence and undue influence. People influence each other every day, but that does not make it undue. Undue influence is far more sinister. Legally speaking, undue influence means the complete replacement of the victim’s intent with the intent of the wrongdoer. Instead of a document reflecting what I want, it […]
