We have successfully handled many contests of wills and trusts for forgery, undue influence, and fraud. Proving that a will or trust is invalid involves careful investigation of the supporting facts, presentation of the legal theories that support the facts, and often expert witnesses to testify on your behalf. These cases are often emotionally difficult to pursue on your own because they involve family disputes and issues of betrayal of trust. In these circumstances, the best thing that you can do is to hire a qualified, experienced attorney advise you and to see you through the litigation.
When a person dies leaving more than $166.250 as of 2020 in gross assets in California, the estate must go through the probate process, unless the assets are in a properly drafted and funded trust. A person applies to the court to be named as the executor (if there is a will) or administrator (if there is no will).
The court supervises the administration of the estate, approves the actions and expenses of the administration, makes certain that proper notices have been given, that the assets are correctly appraised, and that the rightful heirs receive their inheritance.
The probate process can be lengthy and complicated, but we handle probates efficiently and as quickly as possible. We are familiar with state and local rules that affect your case. We help and guide you through the process so that you know what your rights and duties are as the personal representative, or beneficiary, of the estate.
Your Last Will and Testament will provide all of the essential details of who will inherit your property, when and how they will inherit it, and who will be put in charge of settling your final affairs. With a will-based estate plan, your Last Will and Testament will cover four important points:
Your Revocable Living Trust will cover the four important points listed above, but the person in charge of settling your final affairs after you die will be called your Successor Trustee instead of your Personal Representative or Executor. Even with a Revocable Living Trust, however, you will still need to have a Last Will and Testament. This is because you will need to fund your assets into your trust before you die so that your trust agreement can govern what will happen to the property titled in the name of the trust after you die. But if you fail to fund even one asset into your trust, then your Last Will and Testament will be necessary to "catch" the unfunded property and transfer it into your trust after you die. In this case the Last Will and Testament will simply function as a "Pour Over Will," meaning that it will provide for the unfunded asset(s) to pour over into your trust after your death through the probate process. A Pour Over Will only needs to cover two important points:
Note that if you have minor children, then your Pour Over Will will also cover a third important point: Who will serve as the Guardian for your minor children until they become adults. Where will the assets that were not funded into your Revocable Living Trust go once they go through probate? This will be determined by the provisions of your Revocable Living Trust.
If you have an inheritance dispute, have been treated unfairly in a will or trust, or believe that the will is fake, you need to bring your claim promptly. Will contests are often brought because someone imposed undue influence on the testator who was unable to resist the influence, either because of dementia, illness or because the other person (family member, caregiver, friend or stranger) persuaded them by spreading lies and innuendo.
Sometimes the will is forged and a handwriting expert is needed to get to the bottom of it. Sometimes estate plans are put in front of a testator to sign even though they have Alzheimer's. Sometimes there is no will, but there is a written letter that the court may deem to be a valid will.
Often an executor or trustee makes a mistake in administering the estate, or even treats him or herself with special consideration, e.g. paying themselves a lot of money, wasting assets, co-mingling their money with the estate money, failing to promptly administer the estate, or losing money in risky ventures. A fiduciary has a very high standard of care to the heirs, and when that standard has been breached, the way to fix it is through a lawsuit.
In other cases, there are complications because the testator had more than one marriage and children of one marriage are treated differently than those from the other marriage. There may be reasons for the inequity that the law does not permit. Other cases involve straightening out poorly written trusts and wills.
Many probate attorneys do not like to get involved in litigation and refer cases to this firm to litigate. We have an excellent record representing our clients in will contests and trust litigation and would be happy to speak with you about your case.
We prepare your estate documents, including wills, trusts, powers of attorney for finances, powers of attorney for health care, nomination of guardians for your children, and documents transferring title to your assets to your trust.
We know that people postpone preparing their estate plans because they do not want to think about dying, but we make the process enjoyable and convenient for you.
A trust is a formal document which essentially declares that assets owned by a person are transferred to a "trust", which is a legal entity. Commonly, the person who establishes the trust is the "settlor" and also the trustee". They administer the trust for their own benefit until their death, and then management is transferred to the "successor trustee".
Married couples often establish the trust for themselves, and at the death of the second spouse, the remaining trust assets are distributed. At the time of death of the trustees, there is work to do, including valuing the trust assets in order to establish base value for future capital gains assessments, gathering and identifying assets, paying expenses and distributions to the ultimate beneficiaries.
Property in trust does not go through the probate process.
Often the senior does not want to "make waves", or is too embarrassed to contact a lawyer, even though prompt action can make a bad situation better. We have extensive experience working with seniors and take their life experience and knowledge seriously. Abusers need to be stopped because they will keep on taking until someone finally stops them. Call to discuss your concerns. We want to hear from you.
Being an executor or trustee is an important job: heirs and creditors want their money, taxes must be paid, property appraised and sold or liquidated. We will guide you through the jungle of mandatory notices, forms and deadlines to make your experience comfortable and swift. In other cases, the wrongful actions of the executor or trustee need to be addressed in court. We are aggressive litigators.