Trusts and Estates Section

Summary: The trial court is not required to employ an effectiveness test before awarding attorneys’ fees and costs to the Attorney General in a charitable trust enforcement action. Read more

Summary: A person who misappropriates estate property in bad faith must return the property, plus pay twice the property’s value as a separate penalty. Read more

Summary: Unambiguous wills may be reformed based on extrinsic evidence establishing clear and convincing evidence of a mistake in the drafting, and of the testator’s actual and specific intent. Read more

Summary: LPS conservatees are similarly situated to persons found not guilty by reason of insanity and individuals subject to other involuntary civil commitments for purposes of the right against compelled testimony. Read more

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