by Inheritance Recovery

Who Pays My Legal Costs for Contesting a Will?

After a person passes away, his or her estate goes to probate, and if that person wrote a final will and testament, the estate will be distributed in probate according to his or her wishes. There are times when a person wishes to contest a will because he or she believes that there is an issue with the estate planning documents. Some of the most common causes for contesting a will include...

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Can an Executor Contest a Will?

In the last will and testament of an estate plan, the decedent not only decides how their estate will be distributed among heirs but also who is named as executor of the will. The executor of a will is the person who administers the estate after the decedent’s passing. This includes paying final taxes, notifying heirs of their inheritance, and distributing the property of the estate according...

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Challenging a Will Due to Undue Influence

When a family member or heir challenges a final will and testament, one of the most common complaints is that a person used undue influence to change the decedent’s final will. Typically, the person challenging the will in probate court has the burden of proving the claims, but in certain scenarios, the burden of proof can shift to the accused party to prove that he or she did not alter the...

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Troubling with a trustee can be handled in a legal manner

There are times when a trustee violates his or her fiduciary duty and needs to be removed from the trust. This article, and the next two parts, explain when a trustee can be removed from a trust in California.

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Contesting a Will Through Probate

Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a will. The estate executor or the attorney representing the estate usually initiates probate.

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What to Expect When Contesting a Will

If you feel like you’ve been unjustly removed from a will or you are curious about the will contest process, then this article is for you.

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No Will ? What do you do now?

When someone dies without leaving a legal will, he or she has died “intestate.”When a person dies in intestacy, the responsibility of determining the distributions of their assets falls to probate court.

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Under What Circumstances Does a Will Become Invalid in CA?

Most people know that a person’s will is the legal document which dictates how that person’s property should be distributed after they die. But a will should only be used in this manner when it is actually valid under state law. When a person’s estate goes to probate, one party may submit a will to the court to be used in distributing the property in the estate, and the court will determine...

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When Promised Property is Missing From a Person’s Estate

When a family member or loved one tells you, perhaps over the course of many years before his or her death, that property will be yours once he or she dies, it can come as a rude awakening when that property seems nowhere to be found (or is in the wrong hands) at the time the person dies. In some cases, the property may be gone forever and there is nothing you can do about it, but, in other...

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My Parents Died Without a Will in CA, What Happens?

Whether a parent succumbed after a long period of illness or died more suddenly, your first concern is no doubt the relational and emotional loss and not the financial consequences. But understanding to whom the parent’s property should be distributed and the legal process in California by which that occurs is a question you will need to address in the near term, especially if other parties...