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 a claim to assets of the decedent’s estate. However, these long lost relatives often must prove up their entitlement to inherit from the decedent’s estate.

The California Probate Code has a procedure in place to determine who is entitled to inherit from the decedent as set forth under California Probate Code section 11700 et seq. Filing a petition under this section is particularly useful when there is uncertainty as to the actual heirs of the decedent’s estate.Continue Reading And You Are? Long Lost Relatives Need to Prove Up Their Entitlement to Inherit

HilaryLWhen discussing your estate planning needs with your attorney, after you discuss basic terms and concepts, your attorney will likely talk to you about the different types of revocable living trusts that may be appropriate for you.  If you are married, this may include a discussion about a revocable living trust structure commonly referred to as a “Sweetheart Trust.”

The Sweetheart Trust derives its name from the high level of control and discretion the surviving spouse maintains after the death of the first spouse. Initially, while both spouses are alive and competent, either spouse can revoke his or her share of the trust and the terms of the trust can usually be modified with the consent of both spouses.  When one spouse dies, all trust assets remain in the same revocable trust for the lifetime of the surviving spouse.  During the surviving spouse’s lifetime, he or she can terminate the trust, change its terms, add or remove beneficiaries, and otherwise manage the trust as he or she sees fit.  Because the surviving spouse has complete and absolute control over the trust after the first spouse dies—in essence, an unconditional gift—this type of trust is called a Sweetheart Trust.
Continue Reading Estate Planning 101: What is a “Sweetheart Trust?”

It was recently revealed that the late Paul Walker left his entire estate—valued at approximately $25 million—to his 15-year-old daughter, Meadow.

As reported, Paul Walker named his father as the executor of his will and his mother, Cheryl, as the guardian of Meadow’s person and now-$25 million estate. Prior to his death, Meadow lived

EdCThe California Court of Appeal for the Sixth Appellate District issued a ruling Tuesday in Lintz v. Lintz, 2014 Cal. App. LEXIS 27 (6th Dist. January 14, 2014) adopting the reasoning of the Second Appellate District regarding the standard for legal capacity to execute a trust instrument (as announced by the Second Appellate District in