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Probate Code Appeals

Downey Brand LLP

Court Applies Harmless Error Rule to Validate Will Benefiting Ex-Fiancé

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Typewritten wills in California generally require the signatures of two witnesses to be found valid, but the harmless error rule can save the day. Probate Code section 6110(c)(2), as recently discussed, provides that a will...more

Downey Brand LLP

Schism Deepens on California Trust Modification

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The First District Court of Appeal recently joined the widening chasm amongst California appellate courts concerning trust modification procedure. Probate Code section 15402 is seemingly straightforward, consisting of a lone...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Indiana Court of Appeals Invalidates Trust for Failure to Identify Trust Beneficiary

Recently, the Indiana Court of Appeals decided the case of Wilson v. Wilson. The case involved the last will and testament (“Will”) of decedent Terrel Wilson, Sr. (“Terrel Sr.”), which purported to create a trust....more

Downey Brand LLP

Trust Modification/Amendment Procedure Now Unsettled in California

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The Legislature and courts endeavor to create well-defined laws, lest we devolve into the governance of Emperor Nero, who reputedly posted edicts high atop columns so as to be painfully difficult for the masses to read. As...more

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Fog Warning – Has One Bad Actor Made It Harder to Get Evidentiary Hearings?

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There’s a saying amongst attorneys that “bad facts make bad law.” By extension, “really bad facts” can throw probate procedure into flux by making it harder to qualify for an evidentiary hearing. That’s arguably what happened...more

Burns & Levinson LLP

I Want to Contest My Parent’s Will. What Is the Process?

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While still grieving the death of your mother, you receive a Notice from the Probate and Family Court informing you that your good-for-nothing brother has filed a Petition for Probate seeking to be appointed as Personal...more

Downey Brand LLP

Court May Compel Mediation of California Trust Disputes

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Trust and estate litigators, and mediators, are buzzing over a recent decision from the California Court of Appeal that validates mandatory mediation of trust disputes. In Breslin v. Breslin (Case No. B301382, decided...more

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Lights, Cabin, Action! A Showdown Over Jurisdiction and Venue

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One of the first steps before filing a lawsuit is to decide which court has jurisdiction over it and where it is properly venued. It’s a significant choice – not only for strategic reasons, but also because a poor selection...more

Downey Brand LLP

When Do California Trust and Estate Cases Have Preference in Trial Setting or Appeal?

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Getting a civil or probate case to trial in California can take a long time. The pandemic has backed up many courts given that criminal and civil trials starting in March 2020 were postponed. While most California trust and...more

Downey Brand LLP

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

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Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039. Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first...more

Downey Brand LLP

Showdown at the O.K. Corral – The Battle of the Omitted Heirs

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Providing for your children is one of the primary purposes of estate planning, but what happens to your carefully crafted trust if you had children you did not know about when you created the trust? Or, what if you have...more

Downey Brand LLP

Clear and Convincing Evidence Standard Continues to Apply in California Appeals

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Last week the California Supreme Court used a conservatorship case to clarify how appellate courts should review the sufficiency of evidence when the trial court applied the clear and convincing evidence standard. In...more

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Mind Your Notice in California – Even Remote Contingent Beneficiaries May Need to Be Served

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It’s unremarkable that California courts require that notice be given to affected beneficiaries in trust and probate proceedings. After all, the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees that no person will be deprived of life,...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Courts May Invalidate Right of Survivorship in Joint Accounts

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Often an aging parent will add an adult child to the parent’s account as a joint holder to assist with asset management or bill payment. However, this may lead to an unintended result in California when the parent dies. The...more

Downey Brand LLP

Don’t Rely on a Post-It® Note to Amend Your California Trust

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A key feature of a California revocable trust is that it can be amended. Revising a trust can, however, seem like an irksome chore so it’s common for creators of trusts (i.e., “settlors” or “trustors”) to shrug off an...more

Downey Brand LLP

Beware of Dormant Creditor Claims in California Probate Cases

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California’s probate process aims to expeditiously identify and resolve the claims of creditors against decedents. Creditors who are unsophisticated, or who simply do not learn of the decedent’s passing, may find themselves...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Probate Administration Is No Time for Napping

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In the absence of a trust that allows assets to pass without opening probate, the California probate process lasts for at least six months and can run much longer depending on the size of the estate and the nature of assets....more

Downey Brand LLP

When Defending Becomes Offensive: California Court Expands No Contest Clauses to Defense of Invalid Amendment

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No contest clauses are included in wills and trusts to discourage dissatisfied beneficiaries from challenging the document’s validity. Because enforcement of these clauses results in disinheritance, the California Probate...more

Downey Brand LLP

Probate Code Provides Ground Rules for Who Gets What from Wills and Trusts

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Many California will and trust disputes arise from ambiguity in the document with respect to who is entitled to an asset. Maybe the document was hazy from the start or perhaps circumstances have changed such that the rightful...more

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Trustees Must Terminate California Trust if Terms Compel Distribution

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Are six sibling co-trustees too many cooks in the kitchen? Many California trust disputes arise from disagreements among sibling co-trustees over how to administer Mom and Dad’s trust after the parents have passed. They all...more

Downey Brand LLP

Barefoot No More – California Supreme Court to Review Standing of Trust Contestants

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Can a disinherited person contest a trust amendment under California Probate Code section 17200? No, said the Court of Appeal last August in Barefoot v. Jennings (2018) 27 Cal.App.5th 1. The Barefoot opinion put pending...more

Downey Brand LLP

California Court Can Apply Impossibility Doctrine

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What happens when the settlor (i.e., creator) of a trust imposes a condition precedent on receipt of a distribution from the trust, but the condition cannot be met because the circumstances have changed? Is the beneficiary...more

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California Courts Can Excuse Trustee Who Acts in Good Faith

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A California trustee can be excused from liability for breaches of trust if a judge determines that it would be equitable to do so. We see many situations where a family member trustee strays from the requirements of the...more

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California Courts May Scrutinize Conservator Fees

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Private professional fiduciaries in California are entitled to charge a reasonable fee for their services, but their fees for acting as conservators are subject to close court scrutiny. A recent California Court of Appeal...more

Bowditch & Dewey

Worcester Medicine publishes, "The Uncooperative Patient and the Least-Restrictive Protection Approach"

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It is a dilemma inherent in caregiving: what to do when a patient disagrees with what appears to be the obviously correct treatment decision? Inpatient facilities can suffer significant financial losses when a patient refuses...more

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