A trust administration that I am working on right now is illustrating the importance of including alternative distribution provisions in your estate plan. My client is the trustee of her relative’s trust. The relative had validly exercised a power of appointment to...
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Are There Any Alternatives to a Guardianship of the Person in California?
The answer is yes and it is called a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit. As discussed below, there are limitations when a Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit can be used, but when it can be used, then it eliminates the expensive process of filing a Petition for...
Signs of Undue Influence
As people age, certain everyday activities may become more difficult and dangerous. An older person may reach a time when eyesight or other health concerns make driving no longer an option. Additionally, keeping up with the latest technology is hard at any age, but...
Are Your Kids Heading Off to College Soon? Have They Executed a Power of Attorney or Advance Health Care Directive?
Rolling into May is an exciting time of year for high school seniors with all of the end of year activities including graduation. Then comes fall and some of them become college students and head off to college. As parents, on top of all the other considerations you...
What Is the Role of Court Appointed Counsel in a Conservatorship?
One of the important people in a conservatorship proceeding is the attorney appointed by the court to represent the conservatee. Some counties appoint private attorneys from a list the court maintains, other counties appoint the public defender’s office, and other...
Small Estates: 13100 Declarations
A Probate is the court process used to administer a decedent’s estate when they pass away. The process transfers a decedent’s assets to the beneficiary or heir of the decedent. However, in California, a summary estate administration can be used with smaller estates...
What Medical Evidence is Needed When Petitioning to be Appointed Conservator?
When a court is making a determination of whether an individual needs a conservator appointed either for their person or their estate, the court has to decide if the proposed conservatee lacks capacity to provide for their personal needs, or to manage their financial...
When Does a Conservatorship End?
How and when a conservatorship ends depends on the type of conservatorship. A conservatorship of the person automatically terminates by operation of law when the conservatee dies. The conservator must file the Judicial Council Form Notice of Death of Conservatee with...
Sandwich Generation: Planning for your Parents, Children & Yourself
Family is complex and various stages in life overlap, which can be stressful. A term we’ve been hearing a lot about lately is the “Sandwich Generation.” The term was first coined in 1981, by Dorothy Miller[1]. The term illuminates the time when the middle...
What Do I Do Now? My (insert family member here) Has Lost Capacity and We Need to Pay their Bills!
I get a lot of calls from clients asking this question and wanting to know about options. In fact, just this week I spoke with a client who’s uncle lost capacity and she needs to finalize his tax returns. Her first thought was that she needed to file a petition for...