INTRODUCTION It seems a day does not go by without speaking to a potential new client regarding their parent’s trust not being properly funded. There are different reasons this happened but the end result is they need to hire an attorney. This blog post focuses on the interplay of the small probate estate and funding […]

EXPERTS AND SPECIALISTS Every “probate lawyer” you talk to says they are a probate “expert” or a probate “specialist.”  Of course few really are.  When I say that I mean it because 1) I was a former Sacramento Bee probate “expert” when I wrote for the Bee and 2) I am a Certified Specialist in […]

OBJECTING TO A NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTION In a recent blog post I explained what happens in the probate real estate process. That postfocused on how to respond to a notice of proposed action. Now, let’s take it a step further and talk about what happens AFTER YOU OBJECT TO A NOTICE OF PROPOSED ACTION…. […]

Introduction I was on a CourtCall today appearing live, though by telephone, in the Lake County probate Court.  As I waited my turn to speak to the Judge I thought about what everybody does while waiting for a probate Court hearing to start… I daydreamed about what I had done to be ready for today’s […]

How to respond to the Notice of Proposed Action You have received a notice of proposed action in a probate real estate sale… now what do you do?  You have options. Generally the notice says that you have until a date (15 days after the notice is mailed) by which you must object to the […]

A great article in Private Wealth magazine quotes yours truly!  It is an article about the people that made large gifts at the end of 2012 to take advantage of the $5.12m federal gift tax exemption. Did any of them have second thoughts when the law was extended in the wee hours on January 1, […]

“I can get a trust done for $500, on the back page of Rolling Stone magazine, so why should I pay you $2,000?” My answer is simply, “we will find out after you die how good your five hundred dollar estate plan is.” I mean that with all sincerity. It MIGHT be just fine. On […]

How would you feel if your evil ex-husband or witch of an ex-wife received your life insurance after you die?  Talk about rolling over in your grave!? Upon filing for divorce, in California, there are automatic restraining orders. Among them, you are not allowed to make changes to non-probate transfers without the consent of your […]

Estate planning and, in particular, estate taxes remain a moving target. Here’s a recent article from the New York Times highlighting this problem.  I encourage you to check it out here. – John Palley

I am often asked to help walk a client through a trust certification form. Either for a re-fi on their mortgage or a new bank account. After filling out 25 of those, or more, one year I thought I would post it here to help my readers know exactly what is needed. This is a […]