California Estate Planning Legal Questions

No.  Any change to a Will must be witnessed and notarized just like a Will.   In addition, while you can leave your estate to someone else as Trustee for a minor child, a conservator is appointed by the Court.   It sounds as though this "will" may be worth what it cost you -- and that it will cost you a great deal more given the high cost of probate in California.  Talk to a local estate planning attorney about a better way to leave things to you daughter (such as a revocable living trust).... Read More

Contact the local probate court to see whether the Will was filed.  If not, you can hire an attorney to file it and apply for the estate to be administered.  If the trust was created by the Will, it should be administered according to the Will.  If the trust was independent of the Will and named you as beneficiary, under most states' rules you will at some point receive an accounting from the trustee. A pension might pay to a spouse but will not pay to children, let alone nephews and nieces.... Read More

Yes, issues of whether your mother had the capacity to sign a will and trust, as well as whether your brother unduly influenced your mother to change her will and trust, are valid causes to challenge the validity of the will and trust.  You can bring the documents to an attorney to review and advise you of your next steps.... Read More

A will must be in writing, just telling someone that the house should go to them isn't enough. With a joint bank account, they can withdraw the funds in the bank account and do what they want with it. The vehicle should go to the heirs of the estate. The house must go through a formal probate proceeding.... Read More

A trustee must have proper authority in order to act on behalf of the trust.  But that may not be the issue here.  This sounds like more fraud and breach of fiduciary duty in which the court may surcharge the trustee for wrongdoing.  Discuss further with your attorney to add additional causes of action.... Read More

A power of attorney would be valid in California and Washington.  You should do this now, so that if you needed the power of attorney, then it is in place in case of your incapacity before moving to Washington.  It can't protect you if you don't have it in place.  But after you move to Washington, I would advise you to update the power of attorney.... Read More

Your uncle could agree to not raise the statute of limitations, but if you are accusing him of fraud why would he? Immediately speak to an attorney who handles estates to find out when the time period starts [date probate started or date reasonable person would or should know have a basis to dispute Will, other ways to attack such as fraud, etc.]. It is extremely doubtful you can successfully handle this matter by your self. There is a slim chance you might be able to hire an attorney on an hourly basis to advise you, but most attorneys would refuse because of a fear of a malpractice claim].... Read More

That depends upon how the title to the land is. If each of you owns a separate piece of property, you can not stop the sale. If, as is much more likely, your parents said "all of the land we own to our children", then all of you are owners of the entire tract of land and all must approve any disposition, including a sale. The only way your brother can force a sale is to win a suit for partition, which would result in each sibling getting exactly the same dollar amount.? To do so would cost over $15,000 and the current mystery buyer is not likely to wait for the year or so it will take for a court judgment. If your brother will not state in answer to written questions from you [interrogatories] or in public before the judge the details of any proposed sale, the judge is more likely to reject the petition and rule the land is not to be divided. With an hour o two of advice from an attorney, you could probably handle the litigation by yourself, but he would have to hire an attorney. I would doubt that your other siblings would be willing to pay the charges from the attorney merely because your bother refuses to tell you the sales price. There is no reason for your brother to keep the sales price hidden from anyone unless it is below market value or he plans to take a larger share than he is entitled to [he will claim he did all the work to find the buyer, but unless you signed a written agreement for him to be compensated for that, he can not legally charge a commission for the sale. I do not understand why the others have given him a power of attorney. Normally money is thicker than blood. Even with a POA, he is not in as strong a position a he images. A POA allows someone to act for another person who can not or does not want to be present to do something, such as signing a sales document.? He must act as the person giving him the power would want.? That means he must split the proceeds evenly. He can be sued for abusing his position as someone with POA [especially profiting from his actions]. What reason does he give for the secrecy? After the sale occurs, the public records will show what the property is assessed at, which normally would be the sales price. You seem to have a very strong case.... Read More

I know you won't like this answer, but you need to talk to a lawyer that handles contested estate matters. This looks to be complicated, given the amount of time that has passed. An attorney will need a lot more information to be able to help you, and you don't want to be having that conversation in a public forum like this.... Read More

It doesn't sound like good service, but if you ignore it some judge may disagree with you, and you might find yourself with a judgment against Dad. Sooner or later, the plaintiff's lawyer will figure things out, and you will get served as trustee. You might be better advised to look at your insurance policy, to see if this sort of thing is covered. If so, let them handle it. If not, get a good civil defense lawyer with experience in this field.... Read More

Facts: You and your husband were married and not yet divorced when he died. He was a bigamist, having married another woman before your divorce was final. Conclusions: A. His second marriage is not valid. You are entitled to all the right of any widow, except to the extent that you waive(d) them. If, for example, you and he entered into a partial or complete marriage settlement agreement, you may have waived some rights. B. You have the right to see a copy of his will, if any. C. Subject to waivers partially described in paragraph A above, you own your half of any community property and may inherit much more, depending on the terms of his will, if any,... Read More

No, the personal representative is not entitled to benefit from the estate when all heirs are not.Remind him of that and that you could easily petition the court to have him removed for his conflict of interest and behavior and that he must, while controlling it for his own benefit, pay the estate monthly a reasonable rent. Try to be diplomatic as you want to be able to get along if you are living together.... Read More