A Will Can be Set Aside and Disregarded if a Court Finds that the Maker Lacked Testamentary Capacity PRESUMPTION OF CAPACITY California law presumes that everyone has the mental capacity to make a will. Thus, if someone challenges a will in probate court for lack of mental capacity it is…
Orange County Probate Court Litigation Lawyer YOU CAN FILE LAWSUITS OVER PROBATE ESTATE MATTERS PROBATE COURT SYSTEM Part of the California Superior Court system is dedicated to administration of trusts and estates and the deciding of lawsuits over all aspects of trusts and estates. Probate court litigation lawsuits in the…
Can I Really Spend All My Inheritance Money, or Does Uncle Same Get a Portion? DOESN’T MATTER IF IT COMES FROM AN ESTATE OR TRUST Is My Inheritance Taxable – Your inheritance of money or property may come from the estate of a deceased person or from a trust established…
How did that kid get so much money to blow! 18 is the age of majority When a child turns 18 years he or she is considered to be an adult under California law. In legal terms, children under age 18 are called “minors” and when they reach age 18…
How Do You Figure Out Who Gets What? – Inheritance with Simultaneous Deaths LEGAL BACKGROUND: 2 WAYS TO INHERIT Under California law a person can inherit money or property (1) as a result of being named in a legal document such as a will or (2) inheritance can occur because…
Intro CASE #6: Unreasonable trustees fees Put limits on trustees fees in your trust documents to avoid future disputes I was represented a man whose mother had died leaving her house and some bank accounts in a trust. Unfortunately, the trust was managed by his two sisters and they were not…
Intro CASE #5: Stepfather removing trust assets Proper trust drafting should account for diverse personalities & specify how money is to be spent I was retained by the person whose mother had established a living trust with her second husband. She and her second husband put all other assets in…
Intro CASE #4: Claimed lack of mental capacity But Father Knew 3 of 4 Children would CLAIM JUST THAT after his death! I represented an elderly man with a very large estate which was in a living trust. He had four children and did not want to leave the trust…
Intro CASE #3: Monkey business with the family business Big Salaries, Fancy Cars, 2 of 4 Kids Squandering Trust Assets Unfairly There was a family with four children and a father who had a large specialty construction company. The father had established a living trust and transferred all of his assets…
Intro CASE #2: Failure to account for a phony trust George the “Trustee” & Disbarred Attorney Attempt to Scam my Clients I represented some people who were swindled into transferring some real estate they owned into a trust in exchange for some paper they were told were “gold shares”. The…