A Better Standard for Undue Influence. Staring January 1, 2014, the California Welfare and Institutions Code section 15610.70 created a “new” standard for undue influence. It is not really new because it simply codifies concepts that were previously known by way of judge-made common law. But for the first time, we have a four part […]
If you have a Trust or Will matter that has problems, do yourself a favor and take action quickly. How quickly? That depends on the type of claim you are bringing. The problem with Trust and Will lawsuits is that they are subject to a confusing morass of statutes of limitation that could potentially sink […]
Nowadays you rarely need an original document in court, most of the time a copy will do just fine. But not so for Wills. Original Wills must be lodged (meaning filed) with the court, so that the court and all the parties can determine if the Will is valid. Of course, the person who signed […]
If you are a Trust beneficiary do you have the right to live in Trust property rent-free? What if another beneficiary is occupying real property of the Trust, can they do that rent free? Find out more in our latest video.
There’s two ingredients to every good Trust and Will trial lawyer: (1) an in-depth knowledge of Trust and Will law, plus (2) an in-depth knowledge of civil litigation. Many lawyers know one or the other, but not both. That can be a problem for successfully navigating a Trust or Will lawsuit through the Court to […]
Why can’t you just freeze Trust assets as soon as you file your Trust lawsuit? Well sometimes you can, but other times it is not so easy. In fact, in nearly every case you have to start from the point that assets are not generally going to be frozen once a lawsuit is filed. Freezing […]
If you have been disinherited, or your inheritance has been stolen from you in some way, you have just one chance to fight for your legacy. But not fighting is also an option, it all depends on what you want to do. A few years ago, a client told me that he wanted to fight […]
So your parent dies and you see a Will that names you as a beneficiary. Great, you now have a piece of your parents’ property secured as your inheritance…right? Not so fast. Just because you are named in a Will does not necessarily mean you are entitled to any assets because a Will only controls […]
If you are the beneficiary of a San Diego Trust that gives the Trustee the power to make discretionary distributions to you, you may have more rights than you think. While Trustee’s can use discretion to make distributions, they cannot refuse to distribute for no reason at all. In this video we describe some of […]
Some Trust administrations go smoothly and others devolve into all-out warfare in Court, but somewhere between harmony and all-out war stands troubled Trust administrations. Those are the Trusts where the Trustee and the beneficiaries can’t seem to agree on anything. Where information is not easily shared, decisions are questioned, and everything seems to be hostile. […]
