An Executor’s Guide to Administering an Estate
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Inheritance Data - Digital Planning Podcast
There is much to commend in O’Brien, Proposing a Model Antilapse Clause, 48 ACTEC L. J. 257 (2023), particularly its flagging of the doctrinal and practical flaws in Uniform Probate Code §2-707, which would apply the...more
In 2021 and 2022, I wrote about Surrogate’s Court decisions that addressed the admission of remotely witnessed wills to probate in New York State. Since then, Surrogate’s Courts have issued at least two more decisions...more
Subject Matter Matters in Land Court - DiNicola v. Ely, et al., No. 23 MISC 000128 (2023), Berkshire County (Land Court May 25, 2023) - Does the Massachusetts Land Court have subject matter jurisdiction over claims...more
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
This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. ...more
Television shows and movies show a Will being read at a funeral, as if the Will is automatically valid and assets can be distributed immediately. Unfortunately, the probate process is more complex and time intensive. This...more
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
The thrifty do-it-yourselfers among us might jump at the opportunity to transfer their family home to their kids while avoiding probate and the expense of creating a trust. Revocable Transfer on Death Deeds, or RTODDs, have...more
The term “probate” is one you may have heard and might associate with negative connotations, but you don’t fully understand what it is. For some, the term conjures images of lengthy delays waiting for wealth to be transferred...more
Testamentary Capacity at Moment of Execution of Will Is Crucial; Testator’s General “Cognitive Decline” Does Not Invalidate Will - Haddad v. Haddad, 19-P-1378 (January 12, 2021) - Where the maker of a will has entered...more
In an April 2020 post to this Blog entitled “The Remote Witnessing of Estate Planning Documents during the COVID-19 Pandemic,” my colleague Cheryl L. Erato addressed Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order authorizing the remote...more
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
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
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
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
In California, a trustor (person who creates a trust) can confer a “power of appointment” on trust beneficiaries, empowering them to designate to whom they want to give their shares of the trust. The trustor can require trust...more
The COVID-19 pandemic has idled workers and the coming weeks will bring more news of business closures and bankruptcies. After a decade of sustained growth, we are facing a recession of uncertain depth and duration. The New...more
A common misconception is that when you die with a Will, your heirs avoid probate. In California when you die with a Will and the total assets owned in your sole name exceed $166,250, your estate goes through probate (a court...more
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
The 2020 cost of living adjustments of certain dollar amounts under the Colorado Probate Code has been published by the Colorado Department of Revenue. Probate practitioners should be aware of the change in figures related to...more
The probate unit of the Sacramento County Superior Court (Department 129) will have a new judge in January 2020. Judge Kevin R. Culhane will be the probate judge, replacing Judge John P. Winn who has served in that role since...more
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
One of the most common questions clients ask is whether they need a trust. While they are usually seeking a “yes” or “no” answer, as with most legal questions, the correct answer usually is, “It depends.” The answer depends...more
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
Under California law, the laws of intestacy control who inherits when a person dies without having prepared a valid will or trust. These rules can be complicated particularly as remote or even unknown blood relatives may have...more