Can a debt be collected against me or my family after death? In California, a decedent’s family is not responsible for the debts of the decedent. There are times where a surviving spouse may be liable, but even that has its limitations. For example, if the decedent had a purely separate property debt, then the […]
What do you call a court filing that usually is a complete waste of time, but occasionally kills a lawsuit against you at the very outset of the case? Answer: a confusing morass??? No, the correct answer is a demurrer. Demurrers are funny things because they focus on a narrow issue of your lawsuit. In […]
Many times a Trustee wants the Trust beneficiaries to sign a waiver of accounting and release of liability before any Trust distributions are made. It is understandable (from the Trustee’s perspective) that he wants to prevent any future lawsuits before all the Trust money is distributed. But do waivers and releases really work? In a […]
In traditional nuclear families, the passing of assets from one parent to the other and then to the kids is a natural occurrence most of the time. But when you have a parent who marries a different spouse, a step-parent to you, then the passing of assets is not so simple; especially where the step-parent has children […]
Have you ever heard of law and equity? Nearly everyone has heard of law, in fact many people believe the law is a set thing that is easily applied with clear-cut rules (not true in most cases by the way). Equity, on the other hand, is a lesser-known concept, which is ironic since a huge […]
No-Contest applies to questioning the executor? If you are the beneficiary under a Will that has a no-contest clause, you might be concerned about questioning the actions of the Executor; or for that matter, seeking to remove the Executor for bad acts while in office. Fear not, no-contest clauses are nearly impossible to enforce under California law. […]
Have you been nominated to act as Trustee of someone’s revocable Trust in Orange County? If so, you have just been handed a big headache. As Trustee you are charged with a mountain of duties and responsibilities. Unfortunately, many people who act as Trustee fail to understand the many duties they have. Instead, they think […]
Being an aggressive lawyer takes a lot more than raising your voice and pounding the table. You need a good plan, a ton of preparation and then a great performance.
Every probate has a beginning, middle and an end (so we hope). But you will never get to the middle or end if you don’t get started. How exactly do you open a probate in California? To open probate you file a petition with the Court, referred to as a Petition for Probate. Luckily in […]
Did you know that when you put a child on your joint bank account they become an owner of that money? More than that, your Will does not affect the ultimate distribution of that account. In this video we describe some of the dangers and misunderstandings dealing with joint bank accounts.
