Trusts and Estates Section

Summary: Where a trust beneficiary held a contingent future interest in the trust’s residue, he was entitled to notice and an opportunity to be heard on a petition eliminating that interest. Read more

Summary: A proposed conservatee must appear at the conservatorship hearing unless certain exceptions are met. Read more

Alma Soongi Beck of Lakin Spears LLP will provide an overview of estate planning for LGBTQ People and unmarried couples, and its evolution over her 18+ years of practice in this area. The discussion will cover the evolving landscape of local, county, and state domestic partnership registration and recognition, property tax issues for people not married and not state-registered domestic partners, considerations for health care directives, and a practitioner’s perspective of planning in this area four years beyond the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Read more

In fulfilling their fiduciary obligations, trustees, conservators and other fiduciaries are often thrust into situations where they are required to act as an employer. From managing caretakers, issuing paychecks, setting schedules, to hiring and firing trust employees, this is perilous territory because California employers are saddled with a host of regulations they are expected to understand and follow precisely. Read more

Join us on March 20, 2020 for the Third Annual Financial Elder Abuse Symposium in Sacramento, CA. Read more

Earn 7.50 Hours of MCLE Credit and Legal Specialization at the 3rd annual Financial Elder Abuse Symposium. Read more

In the 2014 decision of Lintz v. Lintz  the court applied Family Code section 721 to estate plans.  Section 721 imposes a duty of the highest good faith and fair dealing on spouses, and a statutory presumption of undue influence arises wherever one spouse obtains an advantage over the other.  Probate Code section 21385 was amended to remove the presumption created by the Lintz case.  Other legislation passed protects elders from aggressive Care Custodians. Read more

The California Lawyers Association (CLA) is pleased to announce that its position in its first ever amicus brief was confirmed by the California Supreme Court in the recent Barefoot v. Jennings opinion. The brief, filed by CLA's Trusts and Estate Section, addressed issues of standing in revocable trust cases as dictated by the Probate Code. Read more

The most significant change in the SECURE Act that estate planners must address with clients is replacement of the ability to stretch out mandatory withdrawals of an inherited IRA over the life of the beneficiary with a ten-year mandatory withdrawal period for all but “eligible designated beneficiaries.” Eligible designated beneficiaries consist of a surviving spouse, a minor child of the IRA owner until the minor reaches majority, a disabled or chronically ill beneficiary, and an individual who is not more than ten years younger than the IRA owner. Read more

Summary: A former beneficiary of a trust whose interest was eliminated by a subsequent amendment has standing to challenge the subsequent amendment in the Probate Court. Read more