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...
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...
One of the first questions most every person asks when faced with a legal challenge or pursuing a legal goal is, “Do I need a lawyer for this?” No one loves the thought of the potential expense of working with a lawyer, but, while not every legal issue requires retaining a lawyer (e.g. paying a parking ticket or filing your taxes), attempting to go it alone in probate court without the...
If you feel you that you have been wrongfully disinherited from a will in California or that you run the risk of being wrongfully disinherited, you should act quickly to make sure your property interests are protected by contesting the will or else run the risk of losing your right to do so. Contacting an Inheritance Recovery Attorney should be your first step to ensure that all legal...
It is not at all uncommon for a person to create multiple wills over the course of his or her lifetime. The reasons for this are quite simple: as a person progresses through life, both the possessions belonging to that person and the relationships in that person’s life can change, necessitating a rethinking of who should get what following the person’s death. In a perfect world, the proper...