Must you always go to court to receive your inheritance under a trust? For example, say that you’re the 50% beneficiary of a Trust, but the Trustee refuses to distribute your assets to you. It’s been three years since your Mom or Dad passed away and there’s no reason for your sibling, the Trustee, to […]
Occasionally we see cases where a parent leaves all of their assets to a child with the understanding that the child will share the assets with the siblings. For example, a parent may name one child as a joint tenant on a house or bank account, and then expect that the asset will be shared […]
Why can’t the judge see the case, see the lies and throw out the bad Trust amendment? Ultimately, the judge or jury will decide if you win or lose your case, but the court does not have the power to make a decision without first following due process. Our judicial system is based on due […]
Many times clients will tell us that their mom, dad, grandmother, whomever would never have disinherited them and everybody knows that to be true. Why isn’t that enough to overturn a Trust or Will? The answer lies in the type of evidence you must provide to the court if you want the court to overturn […]
If you ever hire a lawyer, you will be asked to sign an engagement agreement that sets forth the attorneys’ fees and costs you will be required to pay. But what’s the difference between fees and costs? Simply put, fees refer to the money you pay to a lawyer for their time working on your […]
We have used the term abused beneficiary for many years now. When we refer to an abused beneficiary, we mean a Trust or Will beneficiary that has been denied their rightful inheritance in some fashion. There are two main types of abused beneficiaries, which we refer to as vested and non-vested beneficiaries. Vested Beneficiaries: Recognizing […]
Somewhere out there is a common misconception that a revocable, living Trust cannot be contested in court. That’s false. You can go to the courthouse in any county in California today and find thousands upon thousands of Trust contest cases. By Trust contest case, we mean a lawsuit to try to invalidate or set aside […]
If a Trustee commits a breach of Trust, or threatens to do so, California law allows a beneficiary or a co-Trustee to take action. What action can you take? That depends on the type of breach committed. Under Probate Code section 16420, the court is authorized to take the following actions: Compel the Trustee to perform his […]
Many areas of the law require attorneys to meet and confer. What does that mean? It means the lawyers must communicate the basis for their disagreement on a legal issue and make a meaningful attempt to reach a resolution. You may be surprised to learn that lawyers rarely agree on anything, but the law still […]
One of the benefits to hiring an attorney or law firm on a contingency fee basis is payment of the out-of-pocket costs. A contingency fee agreement is one where the attorneys agree to represent the client in return for receiving a percentage of the amount recovered for the client. For example, if the attorney recovers […]
