The executor must keep beneficiaries of the will apprised of important developments and decisions affecting the estate. If the executor fails to disclose beneficiaries with a proper accounting of the estate’s affairs, a beneficiary may petition the court to compel the executor to provide one. Beneficiaries may also take legal action, such as asking the […]
A person named an executor of a will in California has a big responsibility. An executor is a person appointed in a will to manage the property and the administration of a deceased person. California law imposes strict guidelines on an executor’s privileges and duties. Sometimes an executor (also known as a “fiduciary”) will ignore […]
Trusts Wouldn’t it be nice to combine the best features of joint tenancy with a Will? That’s where Trusts come into play. Trusts are now one of the most widely used devices to transfer assets from parent to child. Over the course of this series you are going to learn how Trusts are used, and […]
In our first post in this Trust Uses and Abuses series, we discussed the dreaded word: Probate. In this post we will explore why the court-supervised world of Probate causes anxiety when it comes to using Wills. Why all the fuss? Well as you might imagine, any process that requires court supervision is going to […]
Trustees and executors share some similarities. They are both fiduciaries. A fiduciary is someone who is put in charge of someone else’s money. A Trustee is a fiduciary over a Trust, and an Executor is a fiduciary over a probate estate. The Role of a Trustee in California The role of a trustee may be […]
When is a Will a Will? When the court issues an order saying the Will is valid. Before that time, the Will is just a possible Will. In other words, Wills do not take effect, and have no power to control the distribution of an estate, until the court first decides the Will is valid. […]
Yes. In America, you can take almost any legal action on your own, even representing yourself in court. Of course, the old saying is “he who represents himself has a fool for a client.” That may be true in some complicated legal matters, but there are plenty of simple legal matters where you can do-it-yourself. A simple […]
Who should be notified when Probate begins in California and whose duty is it to notify them? Under California law, the entire world must be notified when probate begins in California, and it is the named executor’s job to do so, or the person filing to open probate. But how do you notify the world? It all […]
This is an important question that can be difficult to answer in a single article. There are a long list of duties that Executor’s have under California law, but they can be summed up using the categories below: Take Control of Estate Assets and Properly Manage Them The first job over any executor is to […]
That all depends on what you mean by “probate.” In California, in fact in the entire United States, we operate under the so-called American system of litigation fees; meaning each party pays their own fees regardless of who wins the case. But there are a few exceptions. For example, if you have a contract that […]
