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 […]
Did you know that Trusts didn’t used to be so widely used? In fact, the widespread use of Trusts for planning the transfer of assets from parents to children is a fairly new development. It wasn’t that long ago that everyone passed their asset on to the next generation using the centuries-old method of Last […]
There are times when people want their home kept in the family forever. Can Trust beneficiaries keep the home for mutual use instead of selling it? The Trustee and Beneficiaries must first check the terms of the Trust document. If there are no restrictions stated in the Trust pertaining to selling the home, the Trustee […]
Parents do not have to treat children equally in estate planning documents (Wills and Trusts). Under California Trust and Estate law, creators of a Will or Trust may leave their assets to whoever they wish, including non-family members. There is no requirement that parents provide equal treatment to their children under a Trust or Will. […]
If you want to understand Trusts, you need to have a solid grasp on the terminology. One of the first things a person needs to understand about Trusts is the difference between a Trustee and a Trust beneficiary. When a Trust is created, it becomes its own legal entity. A Trust can only operate through […]
If you are filing a lawsuit pertaining to an inheritance under a Trust or Will in California there are deadlines that must be followed. These deadlines are called statutes of limitation. A statute is a written law passed by the legislature. A statute of limitations is a law prescribing a time deadline for bringing each […]
When parties attend mediation and enter into a settlement agreement, sometimes they develop an uncomfortable feeling when they wake up the next morning that they were coerced into settling by the opposing party, the mediator, or their own attorney. Is it possible to overturn a settlement agreement you entered into at mediation? Can litigants overturn […]
Mediation seems to confuse a lot of people. But really a mediation is just a settlement conference. During mediation, parties in a lawsuit and their attorneys sit down with a neutral third-party mediator. Mediators are usually retired judges. The mediator goes back and forth between the parties and tries to help the parties broker a […]
How long should you wait for a Trust accounting? After the Trust creators (also called “Settlors”) pass away, beneficiaries can expect to wait between six months to one year for an accounting from the Trustee. The time frame depends on the nature of the assets and the terms of the Trust. A Trust accounting is […]
Some Trustees ask beneficiaries to sign a waiver of accounting before making Trust distributions. Occasionally, if there are multiple beneficiaries, some of the beneficiaries may be happy to waive a formal accounting, while one beneficiary refuses. What happens if one of the beneficiaries refuses to sign a waiver of accounting? If one beneficiary refuses to […]
