Justice Stephen Field wrote for a unanimous Supreme Court in the 1869 case of United States v. Kirby that “The reason of the law . . . should prevail over its letter.” Justice Field wrote these words in support of a decision...more
Hey everybody – it’s January! How was your New Year’s Eve? How did you celebrate? Did you go to a party? Did you host a party? Were there games at your party? What kind of games? Charades? Jenga? Maybe you went crazy and...more
Under universally accepted law, across every jurisdiction, lawyers owe vital and concrete duties to their clients. The duty of confidentiality. The duty of loyalty. The duty to disclose. And, greatest of all, the duty to...more
Newcomers to probate litigation are frequently surprised by how differently things work in probate court, as opposed to your more straightforward civil courts. (And how do those newcomers know how civil courts work? Law &...more
For centuries, serious legal scholars have debated what is possibly the most vital question of our times: in what ways, if any, does our judicial system differ from basketball? Now, thanks to the California Supreme Court’s...more
It’s the Halloween season, a time when most of us spend a more-than-reasonable amount of time focusing on the spookier side of things: ghosts, goblins, small children dressed like jack-o-lanterns, suspiciously foggy and...more
We’ve been your dogged reporter on the ever-growing logjam in the Courts of Appeal on trust modification procedure. We’ve followed the twists and turns that courts have taken as they’ve tackled the question of what happens...more
This blog has devoted a lot of real estate to the use of anti-SLAPP motions in California trust and estate litigation. Though the courts’ treatment of such motions is varied and oftentimes unpredictable, Californians can...more
2/28/2023
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Beneficiaries ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Elder Abuse ,
Estate Planning ,
Litigation Funding ,
Probate Courts ,
Protected Activity ,
Trust Amendments ,
Trust Assets ,
Trust Funds ,
Trustees ,
Trusts
Suing the suer is a common strategy in California civil litigation. A special motion to strike, known as an anti-SLAPP motion, can be a powerful weapon against such retaliatory litigation. We have explained the use of such...more
11/9/2021
/ Anti-SLAPP ,
Appeals ,
Beneficiaries ,
Breach of Duty ,
Cal Code of Civil Procedure ,
Division of Assets ,
Family Trusts ,
Fiduciary Duty ,
Inheritance ,
No Contest Clause ,
Residual Trusts ,
Trustees
Section 2030 of California’s Family Code provides an important safeguard to ensure the fairness of marriage dissolution proceedings. It allows the Court to order a more financially well-off party to pay some or all of the...more