Wills and Trusts are vastly different types of documents. They may seem similar in some respects, but they are more different than they are similar. What is a Will? For starters, a Will is a “testamentary” document meaning it must meet certain formalities to be a valid document. All Wills must be in writing, signed by […]
Don’t you believe it. This may be one of the oldest arguments in the book. Siblings often argue that whatever mom and dad gave you during life belongs to the estate. Or a closely related argument: we are going to count your lifetime gifts against your share of the estate. It really is all the same thing, siblings hate […]
Easy, just go to the court in the California County in which your loved one lived at the time of their death and ask for a copy because every Will is required by law to be lodge with the court after death. Just kidding, people rarely lodge a Will with the court even though the law […]
How do you protect a parent who you think is being abused by the Trustee of a revocable trust or some other bad actor? You might think that your parent lacks capacity to manage their own financial affairs, or perhaps you think they are subject to undue influence and being manipulated. The problem with revocable trusts […]
After handling many hundreds of Trust and Will contest cases, we can tell you that disinheriting a child is not about the money. Well, it is about keeping money from them, but the child sees it as so much more. Distrust, betrayal, danger, a lack of love or approval; these are just some of the […]
Should I Fight My Relatives Over An Estate Even If It’s Worth Very Little? Probably not. There are two equally powerful issues you must consider when contesting an estate: (1) principal, and (2) money. By principal, I mean fighting for what is right, for what is just in your case. And of course, money simply means the […]
How Can I Go Through Probate With My Family Without Things Getting Hostile? That all depends on what you mean by “go through probate.” If you are referring to the probate of a Will (or the administration of an estate without a Will), then you may be able to get through the process by simply sticking […]
This is heartbreaking problem and is nearly impossible to fix after someone dies. Typically, the problem arises when someone creates a Will decades before death and sets out his wishes at that time. But over time he changes his mind and wants to leave the estate to different people. The decedent may even tell people he […]
My relative wrote their own Will and it’s being contested by family members who were left out, what should I do? Fight back. The fact that the Will was written by your relatives is not, in itself, grounds to contest the Will. Of course, that does not stop people from contesting it anyway. But to contest the Will, […]
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 […]
