A minor who nominated his mother as guardian ad litem (See What is a California Guardianship?) does not voluntarily participate in a probate proceeding triggering a no contest clause provision in a will or trust. Safai v. Safai, 164 Cal.App.4th 233 (2008).
“The Trust (What is a Revocable Living Trust?) and the will both included [...]

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Barack Obama has aired a new ad accusing John McCain of favoring offshore asset protection trusts that operate as tax shelters in Bermuda. McCain is alleged to have taken $50,000 while on a lobbyist supported vacation from those who have benefited from the trusts. You can see the ad here, courtesy of the [...]

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In a previous article, “Eight Signs Your California Tax Shelter or Offshore Asset Protection Trust Is Actually Tax Evasion,” I pointed out that several partners were in trouble at Arnold and Porter for promoting abusive tax shelters. The current state of charges, indictments, and investigations against other firms are almost too numerous to count.
Indictments [...]

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If San Diego estate planning is anything like the rest of the nation, it is in pretty bad shape. The National Association of Estate Planners & Councils has planned the third week of October for a National Estate Planning Awareness week. The reasons for the promotion?

70% of Americans do not have a [...]

Filed under: Current Events, Estate Planning - Generally, Powers of Attorney and Living Wills, San Diego Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills, Wills and Trusts | No Comments »

Now that the big accounting firms have been stung by IRS investigations, indictments, and convictions of the promoters of off the shelf tax shelters (like the POPS, PICOs, and FOCUS of Arnold and Porter), they have largely stopped offering speculative “investments” and offshore asset protection trusts. Now “a few smaller accounting and regional law [...]

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Statutory Trust Revocation May Reward Devious Spouses - Punish Sloppy Trust Drafting
It has long been settled that under California probate law, if the trust does not provide for an exclusive method of revocation, the settlors may revoke either by the method contained in the trust or by resort to procedures outlined under statutory revocation. [...]

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Many parents do not realize that if circumstances suddenly change, as in unforeseen death, incapacity, or some other circumstance prevents their ability to care for their children, a legal guardianship process will be instituted in which a caregiver is selected by a California probate court. For example, if a parent were arrested while her [...]

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For those looking to learn information about California Probate Court, Supervising Judge Aviva Bobb of the Los Angeles Probate Court gives real life examples of the practice of probate in her jurisdiction. Probate cases include living trust proceedings, conservatorships, guardianship, estate distribution, minors’ compromise, elder abuse restraining orders, petitions to authorize medical treatment and [...]

Filed under: Estate Administration, Probate, Probate Litigation, San Diego Estate Planning, Trusts, Will Contests, Wills, Wills and Trusts | No Comments »

A California company has been sued for the unauthorized practice of law in several jurisdictions after selling living trusts over the phone to senior citizens. The Minnesota Attorney General initiated suit against two California companies – American Family Legal Plan and Heritage Marketing and Insurance Services, Inc., “for operating a ‘trust mill’ scheme [...]

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An article by Smart Money highlights 10 Things Millionaires Won’t Tell You, and here are some of the highlights:
The first is that the millionaire club is not as exclusive as it once was – nearly 10 million households qualify – double the number of 2002, largely due to inflation.
The average GPA of [...]

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The better question might be what to do with the life insurance after you have purchased it. But more on that later. For now, the simple answer is that you should only spend what you can afford to pay, provided that the amount may sustain your family. In purchasing life insurance, the [...]

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First, an A-B trust is only needed for married couples whose estates are worth more than $2,000,000, the current federal estate tax exemption (in 2008). If your estate is worth less than $2,000,000, then you will not owe federal estate tax.
The A-B trust works by placing both spouses’ property interests in trust while they [...]

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“This is a fun topic. Are there public policy limits to how you can give away your property in your Will or trust? The answer is yes . . .” [Death and Taxes Blog]

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“There are those “life changing moments”… like buying your first home, getting a divorce or starting a business that may require the help of an attorney. Attorneys, after all, do more than provide legal information; they offer strategic advice and apply sophisticated technical skills to legal problems. The question is: How do [...]

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The New York Probate and Estate Litigation Blog reports that “[t]oday’s New York Times reports that the late Leona Helmsley has left a mission statement in connection with a testamentary trust valued as high as eight billion dollars. In it, she directs that virtually the entire fund be applied to the welfare of dogs.

From [...]

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The Estate Planning Practice Blog has a nice article detailing the considerations and consequences that go along with deathbed estate planning.

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