Your Law Firm For Life In Northern California
Probate is the legal process through which the court settles a deceased person's estate under supervision. In California, this process follows the decedent’s will or state law regarding debt payments and asset distribution. If you’re going through probate with a loved...
Once you begin your estate planning journey, you will likely encounter a common refrain from professionals: Avoid probate at all costs. But what does that mean, and why is it so important? Probate refers to the court-supervised process of distributing your assets...
Handling the distribution of an estate can be challenging. This is especially true when it comes to keeping peace among the beneficiaries. Personal representatives play a huge role in this process. Their actions can greatly influence how everything goes. Clear...
Creating a trust can be an effective way to convey property and money to individuals and even organizations. However, just because you create a trust does not mean the trust automatically possesses the assets you want included in it. A trust is merely a legal...
Estate planning is an important aspect of securing one's legacy, particularly for older adults who wish to make sure people distribute their assets correctly. Unfortunately, a rising concern in recent years is the prevalence of scams targeting seniors in the realm of...
A fiduciary is an individual or institution that acts on behalf of another person. They must fulfill their fiduciary duty in good faith, with the intention of advocating the best interests of the person who appointed them. The owner of an estate will typically...
No one likes to be left out of a will, yet there are many valid reasons for a testator to do so, including distrust or estrangement. Your estate might be set back thousands of dollars and years of probate if an interested party chooses to contest your will after you...
Too often, when people put their estate plans in place, they don’t consult their loved ones about what assets they’d like to inherit. They may think they know best or not want to start a family conflict. They may just not feel comfortable talking about it. This can...
One potential reason for an estate dispute during the probate process is when one heir alleges that someone else committed undue influence. This could mean that the estate plan and the will, as they have been written, do not accurately reflect what the person who...