Trusts and Estates Case Alerts

Email to estate planning attorney attaching estate planning questionnaire was insufficient to constitute a valid trust amendment. Read more

Transferring real properties from a corporation to a revocable trust resulted in a reassessment of the properties because the trust and corporation did not have identical ownership. Read more

A direct contest of an original trust instrument resulted in forfeiture under an amendment that did not contain a no contest clause because the assets the challenger sought to inherit pursuant to the amendment were given under the original trust instrument. Read more

Probate court exceeded its statutory authority under Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.03 by issuing order declaring deed void ab initio in elder abuse restraining order proceeding. Read more

A skilled nursing facility cannot compel arbitration of claims arising from a principal’s alleged maltreatment, pursuant to a contract signed by a health care agent. Read more

Failure to comply with the requirement in newly enacted Welfare and Institutions Code section 5350, subdivision (d)(2), that trial must begin within ten days of demand is discretionary, not mandatory, grounds for dismissal. Read more

The statutory method of revocation is available as a method of trust modification unless the trust expressly limits method of modification. Read more

Petition to Determine Entitlement to Distribution of Estate – Rights of Assignee Read more

Where no probate estate is opened and the trustee does not elect the optional trust claims procedure, a creditor may file suit to recover on a settlor’s debt from the trust estate without first having to proceed against the settlor’s probate estate. Read more

A civil complaint was “an action to contest a trust” within the meaning of Probate Code section 16061.8 because “the practical effect” of the complaint was a challenge to the validity of the trust instrument, and it was therefore subject to the 120-day deadline. Read more