News & Analysis as of October 16, 2024

Estate Planning › Fiduciary Duty › Probate Code

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Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the... more +

Estate Planning is a process where individuals prepare or plan for the settlement of their personal affairs in the event of incapacitation or death. Estate plans typically include provisions relating to the disposition of assets, guardianship of minor children, and appointment of representatives to make medical and financial decisions. Effective estate planning can decrease tax liability and facilitate the probate process. less -

Incorporating into a trust instrument a nonjudicial mechanism for effectuating on an ongoing basis the wishes of the deceased...

Charles E. Rounds, Jr. - Suffolk University... on 3/11/2024

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

Hot Water Alert! Agent Should Not Co-Own Account with Principal

Downey Brand LLP on 5/16/2023

Financial powers of attorney give the named agent broad control over the principal’s assets and thus are a key component of estate planning. Such powers allow the agent to help if and when the principal becomes incapacitated....more

Recent Cases of Interest to Fiduciaries: May 2023

McGuireWoods LLP on 5/10/2023

In the most recent installment of the McGuireWoods Fiduciary Advisory Services annual multipart series on recent fiduciary cases, developments in the law concerning various topics are examined through the following... ...more

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter - May 2023

Goulston & Storrs PC on 5/3/2023

This newsletter is intended to keep readers informed about developments in probate and fiduciary litigation in Massachusetts and New York. ...more

Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims - Presentation

Winstead PC on 11/22/2021

David F. Johnson presented “Trustee’s Obligation to Inform Beneficiaries: Avoiding Breach of Fiduciary Duty Claims” to a national audience on November 16, 2021, via Strafford publishing with his co-presenter Scott E. Rahn,...more

Britney Spears and “Marla Grayson” May Propel Tightened Oversight Over California Conservators

Downey Brand LLP on 5/11/2021

When a California probate court establishes a conservatorship, the conservator is charged with managing the conservatee’s person and/or estate in the conservatee’s best interests. The large majority of professional...more

Probate & Fiduciary Litigation Newsletter – February 2021

Goulston & Storrs PC on 2/5/2021

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

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

Downey Brand LLP on 9/29/2020

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 There is Only a Will There’s No Way You’re Avoiding Probate

Lewitt Hackman on 5/31/2020

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

Administering A Trust In A Recession: Securing Loans For Beneficiaries

Winstead PC on 5/22/2020

Beneficiaries often request that a trustee secure a loan from a third party. In an economic downturn, such requests are even more prevalent. As a general rule, a trustee should not want to do so as it should assume that the...more

California Trustee Must Be Careful in Seeking Release from Beneficiary

Downey Brand LLP on 9/4/2019

Can a California trustee require a beneficiary to sign a release in order to get a distribution from a trust? A question like this appeared recently on the AVVO “Free Q&A” page and makes for a perfect blog topic....more

Could “The Farewell” Approach to Hiding a Terminal Diagnosis Occur in California?

Downey Brand LLP on 8/13/2019

In “The Farewell,” now out in theaters, family members choose not to tell the matriarch (“Nai Nai”) of her terminal lung cancer diagnosis. They use the pretext of a wedding to get the family together in China so that they can...more

California Probate Administration Is No Time for Napping

Downey Brand LLP on 7/3/2019

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

Trustee Fees in California – Tips for Family Member Trustees

Downey Brand LLP on 12/11/2018

What is a reasonable trustee’s fee in California for a family member who acts as trustee? We see a high degree of conflict over this issue even when the amount of the claimed fee is small compared to value of the trust...more

Co-Trustee Conflict Fuels California Trust Litigation

Downey Brand LLP on 6/27/2017

California trust litigation often stems from disagreements and hostility among family member co-trustees. Rather than picking one of their kids to serve as sole successor trustee when they die or become incapacitated, Mom and...more

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