Last updated on 09/04/2024 California is well-known as a community property state. In community property states, property that a couple acquires while married and residing in the state is owned by both spouses. And while community property is typically thought of as a legal concept connected to divorce, community property rules also apply to inheritance […]
Probate is the court-supervised process for transferring legal ownership of a deceased person’s assets and settling their debts and other financial affairs. Probate may require paying debts and distributing the decedent’s assets according to their will or state default rules if there is no will. If no one files probate for an individual who has […]
Follow Trust Terms The trustee has a duty to follow the Trust terms. In other words, do as they’re told. May sound obvious, but it’s remarkable how often trustees seem to get that one wrong. It is a basic trustee duty that can be found at California Probate Code section 16000. Too often individual trustees will […]
Most law firms receive a high volume of calls every day from people who are seeking legal advice and/or legal representation. These things will help you in making the initial contact with a law firm: Have Your Documents Ready Lawyers often need to see documents to understand your case. For example, if you are calling […]
Last updated on 09/04/2024 The single most valuable asset most people in California own is their home. Passing a house from one generation to the next is the standard basis for building wealth in our country. But there are multiple ways an individual may inherit a house, and several options exist for using this asset […]
When a parent dies, a child who finds out their parent’s will does not treat them similarly to how it treats other heirs may have reason to contest the will in probate court. Any interested party – not just children of the deceased – can contest a will in California by moving immediately after the death to […]
A viable financial elder abuse legal claim must contain the following elements: An ascertainable person (also known as a “bad actor”) stole an elderly person’s property or financial assets. The elderly person is at least 65 years old. The bad actor stole the assets with the intent to unfairly influence, coerce or defraud the elderly person […]
If the Grantor wishes to limit or control how and when a specific heir is to receive their inheritance the Grantor may impose conditions on the distribution of assets. Grantors may also choose to change the original allocation of assets among the beneficiaries in subsequent codicils, amendments, and restatements to the original Will or Trust. What are […]
Disinheritance is when someone changes their estate plan (Trust or Will) to remove an heir, or previous beneficiary, effectively barring the heir from receiving the full share they were previously entitled to. Heirs and beneficiaries can be fully disinherited, partially disinherited, or can have conditions placed on their inheritance by the Grantor. Below we will […]
Demand Letter for the Copy of a Trust To: From: Date: Subject: Please Provide True Copy of California Trust Under California Probate Code Section 16061.7, the Trustee of a California Trust is required to provide all beneficiaries and heirs with a true copy of the Trust documents, including any amendments, 60 days after the settlor’s […]
