After the death of a loved one, his or her estate goes to probate and the assets are distributed to the heirs and beneficiaries according to the wishes outlined in the final will and testament. In the vast majority of cases, this process runs smoothly and without issue. What if you suspect that, due to a lack of capacity, undue influence, or other reason, the final will and testament of your...
The death of a parent is often a painful and traumatic experience. It can also cause or deepen rifts between siblings, especially once issues of inheritance and estates are discussed. In the most serious cases of sibling discontent, a sibling may choose to contest the final will and testament of the parent in order to obtain a greater share of the parent’s estate. If this is the case with your...
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...
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...
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...
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.
Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a will. The estate executor or the attorney representing the estate usually initiates probate.
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.
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...