In March 2012 Joe Caldwell and Jacqui Spencer have a child. Seventeen months later Jacqui and the toddler move in with Philip Jaurigue. For the next several years the child lives primarily with Jacqui and Phil. Then Jacqui...more
I am not an expert on Zen Buddhism. However, even if I had spent decades of my life studying its tenets (instead of, for example, baseball stats from the 1920’s), I would hesitate to call myself an expert because of what...more
Who’s your father for inheritance purposes in California? Family Code section 7540(a) states that “the child of spouses who cohabited at the time of conception and birth is conclusively presumed to be a child of the...more
The state of marriage has morphed tremendously since the Brady Bunch first aired in 1969, giving rise to nearly as many blended families as traditional families. For those in this situation, it is important to incorporate...more
This morning (5/17) presented an article by Michael Waters in the on-line edition of The Atlantic noting that only about half of Americans die with a will (i.e., testamentary instrument) and suggesting that many of the state...more
The Alberta Law Reform Institute (ALRI) issued its final report in January 2022, entitled "Family Maintenance & Support from the Estate of a Person Who Stood in the Place of Parent." The Report recommends that Alberta...more
When Dad bought a house solely in his name, can Stepmother claim a community property interest after Dad has died? Perhaps yes. The answer lies at tricky intersections of California probate law and family law. While family...more
As we have all witnessed, ours is an age when grandparent duties transcend “Saturday” night. Historically, Saturday was grandparent night when parents would have their night out. Sadly, the explosion in substance abuse among...more
THE CHALLENGE: When Jennifer Arguijo was 11 years old, she and her siblings left Honduras to join their mother and stepfather—a US citizen—in the United States. Four years later, she ran away from home to escape her...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
When attorneys advise errant trustees, how vulnerable are they to breach of trust claims by injured beneficiaries? A case published last week by the California Court of Appeal provides a defensive roadmap to attorneys who are...more
Stepmothers are frequent characters in California trust and estate litigation, as they are in fairy tales and Disney movies. With about half of all marriages ending in divorce, there are many stepmother/stepchild...more
In Shearer v. Shearer, Corrine and John were married from 1990 until 2008. No. 12-14-00302-CV, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 5685 (Tex. App.—Tyler May 27, 2016, no pet. history). John became ill in 2009 and was admitted to a hospital...more
Families that have children who are adopted, or stepchildren who haven’t been legally adopted, face unique estate planning challenges. Additional consideration must be taken when a family includes an unmarried couple in a...more
In This Issue: - The net investment income tax and your estate plan: How one affects the other - Use a noncharitable purpose trust to achieve a variety of goals - Addressing adopted children or stepchildren in your...more
The Ninth Circuit upheld the Board of Immigration Appeals’ denial of the petitioner’s claim that he derived citizenship under INA §320(a) from his U.S. citizen stepfather, who married his non-citizen mother after he was born...more
Now that the IRS has issued final regulations under Section 4980H, the so-called “pay or play” provision of the Affordable Care Act, employers are deciding how to determine whether employees are full-time (30 hours or more a...more
As previously reported, the IRS recently released final regulations on the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) employer “shared responsibility” provisions, also known as the “pay-or-play” mandate. Under the mandate, in order to avoid...more
In This Issue: - New 3.8% Medicare contribution tax: Do you know how to reduce or eliminate your liability? - Estate planning for adopted children and stepchildren - Shipping your trust over the state line to...more
For those who have adopted children or unadopted stepchildren, estate planning is critical to ensure that their property is distributed the way they desire. For those who are unmarried and in a long-term relationship with...more