Whether a beneficiary can recover the value of lost opportunities that could have been realized had a trustee made distributions to that beneficiary was at issue in Williamson v. Brooks (January 31, 2017) ____ Cal. App. 5th ____ [____ Cal. Rptr. 3d ____]. Father created an irrevocable
Attorneys’ Fees Awardable Against Trust Share of Bad Faith Litigant
With a few exceptions, the prevailing party in trust litigation generally cannot recover attorney’s fees. Because parties usually must bear their own attorney’s fees in trust litigation, they should consider whether the likely outcome will be worth the estimated attorney’s fees needed to achieve that
Even An Unambiguous Will May Be Modified With Sufficient Evidence of Intent
The usual California rule is that, if a will appears to be unambiguous as written, no evidence outside the document (“extrinsic evidence”) can be used to change its terms. In Estate of Duke (2015) 61 Cal. 4th 871 [190 Cal. Rptr. 3d 295, 353 P.3d
Presumption of Undue Influence Arises in Certain Marital Estate Plans
Whether they make joint or separate estate plans, married couples often make trusts or wills that provide benefits to the survivor after the first spouse dies. California Family Code § 721(b) imposes an important limitation on such plans. It provides that, “in transactions between themselves,” spouses
