Year: 2014

Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB), San Francisco, CA (1/23/15)

Estate planning is vital because as elderly individuals age, many become ill or lose mental capability, which makes them vulnerable to San Jose elder financial abuse.There are 40.3 million people in the United States today who are aged 65 and older. The U.S. Census...

Probate is the legal process involved in administering the estates of deceased persons. The process is supervised by the probate court, which protects the interests of persons involved in probate court matters. The probate court appoints a personal representative to...

A gift tax is a tax that a person must pay to the federal government when he or she gives a gift at a value above the exempt amount. The exempt amount in 2012 was $13,000. There is no California State gift tax. Certain gifts, such as gifts to a charity and gifts to a...

Most probate proceedings are managed by California's Independent Administration of Estates Act, which enables the executor to administer the will without permission from the court. However, if probate is required, either an executor or a party not named will seek the...

Having acquired a substantial amount of funds from various start-ups, a man who is a passionate advocate of animal rights bought a large tract of land where he cares for abandoned and injured animals. Concerned about what will happen to his favorite dog, the man...

A man was cited as an executor of his aunt's estate. The aunt passed away leaving a distributable estate consisting of $125,000 cash. The man probated the will and was appointed executor. Then, the man borrowed $90,000 in cash from the estate ad and invested the money...

Will and trust contests in California are subject to California statutes and you must know the rules of the law to be successful when contesting or defending against the contest.California Probate Code Sections 8250-8254 lay the ground rules for contesting wills....

As people age, many become concerned about healthcare. If they become subject to a diminished mental or physical capability, how can they afford assisted care? How can they avoid exposing their spouse to financial hardship because of their own debilitation? Medi-Cal...

The contestants of a will have the burden of providing evidence and persuasion to establish lack of testamentary intent or capacity, fraud, duress, undue influence, mistake or revocation. Latent or patent ambiguities are errors the court may remedy, if applicable. A...