Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly 2020, Volume 26, Issue 2
Content
- Chairs of Section Subcommittees
- Editorial Board
- From the Chair
- From the Editors-in-chief
- Inside this Issue:
- Litigation Alert
- Now What? Enforcement and Collection of a Surcharge Order
- Smith V. Szeyller: Probate Court Authority For Attorneys' Fee Award Under the Substantial Benefit Doctrine For Successful Beneficiaries
- Tax Alert
- Transmutation By Deed In California Is a Risky Business
- Tips of the Trade: Propriety of Filing a Demurrer In Probate Court; Helpful Tips On Timing
- California's Statutory Will Needs An Update To Keep Up With Duke
CALIFORNIA’S STATUTORY WILL NEEDS AN UPDATE TO KEEP UP WITH DUKE
By Anne M. Rudolph and Ralph E. Hughes*
MCLE Article
I. SYNOPSIS
California’s Statutory Will1 needs to be updated. The current California Statutory Will form became law in 1991, when Pete Wilson was governor of California and Nirvana came out with "Smells Like Teen Spirit." In those days, any potential reformation of a will in California was governed by Estate of Barnes.2 In Estate of Barnes, California’s Supreme Court affirmed the established rule that extrinsic evidence could not be used to reform a will that was unambiguous on its face.