Trusts and Estates
Ca. Trs. & Estates Quarterly Volume 15, Issue 4, Winter 2010
Content
- Directed Trusts Come of Age In California
- From the Editor
- Inheritance Rights of Posthumously Conceived Children In California
- Revitalizing a Stale Trust: Improvement, If Not Perfection
- REINTRODUCTION OF THE TERM "TRUSTEE DE SON TORT" TO THE CALIFORNIA TRUST LEXICON
- What About the Children? Family Allowances In the Age of the Revocable Trust - Is Parson Still Good Law and Should It Be?
WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN? FAMILY ALLOWANCES IN THE AGE OF THE REVOCABLE TRUST – IS PARSON STILL GOOD LAW AND SHOULD IT BE?
By Jeremiah J. Moffit, Esq.*
"If we don’t stand up for children, then we don’t stand for much." â Marian Wright Edelman1
I. INTRODUCTION
Family allowances and probate homesteads have entered the popular consciousness with the high profile dealings in the estates of James Brown and Michael Jackson. In December 2006, Brown’s widow and five year old son, James, Jr., were locked out of the family home in South Carolina by the named executor of Brown’s will, who also served as trustee of a trust created by Brown.2 Neither wife nor minor child was named in Brown’s will, which was executed prior to the marriage and James, Jr.’s birth.3 More recently, in California, Michael Jackson’s father, Joe Jackson, sought a family allowance in excess of $15,000 per month, alleging his financial dependence upon his son.4 In the same proceedings, the Los Angeles County Superior Court awarded Jackson’s minor children and mother family allowances totaling $86,000 per month while litigation continues over the estate.5