Who has the right to challenge a Will, or a Trust for that matter? To challenge a Will or a Trust in California, the person filing the Trust or Will contest lawsuit must have legal standing to do so. The concept of standing has evolved from centuries of jurisprudence, first in England and then adopted […]
The short answer is no. If you are named as the only heir to your parent’s estate, then you win—and all the excluded children lose. You do not owe them anything. Or at least, that is how it should work…in theory. But many cases are not that easy because the excluded children often do not […]
Last updated on 09/04/2024 What can you do when you find yourself left out of a parent’s Will? That all depends on the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Will in the first place. Understanding Inheritance Rights in California For starters, in California children do not have a right to inherit any property from a […]
What happens to debts after you’re gone? There’s two ways to look at that question: (1) debts that are owed TO you, and (2) debts that are owed BY you. Are either type still enforceable after your death? Debts owed TO you Let’s start with debts that are owed to you, in other words, where […]
If you are suing to overturn a Trust or Will, or taking any other action for that matter, on the basis of capacity or undue influence, then you need an expert witness. In fact, in any case where there is information in medical records, you need an expert witness. Why? Because of a little thing […]
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 […]
So your kid is a brat, never calls, always treats you poorly, and you want to disinherit him or her? Well there is a right way, and a wrong way, to go about doing that. Typically when a child is disinherited, a lawsuit is soon to follow. In California, you have the right to disinherit […]
What is the single biggest threat to your assets leaving your family? I will give you a hint, it ‘s not estate taxes. Many people believe that estate taxes will take a lion’s share of their estate when they die, yet estate taxes apply to few estates. This year, the estate tax exclusion amount is […]
