When real property is transferred in California, it is potentially subject to reassessment upon a change in ownership. (Reassessment often means an increase in property taxes.) For this reason, when you record a deed transferring property, you also need to complete a Preliminary Change of Ownersh...

As successor trustee, one of the first things you should do is start gathering the necessary documents to administer the trust. You will need various forms and information as the administration progresses, but here are a few things you will need to start. (You won't need all of this for the initi...

If someone with a trust has passed away, and you were named successor trustee of that trust, you have a lot of work to do. You may be trying to decide between hiring a lawyer or going it alone to save money on attorneys' fees. Although some tasks can be completed on your own, the overall process ...

Some people, rather than giving property outright to someone in their will or trust, would rather just let the beneficiary live there until the beneficiary dies. This type of gift is called a “life estate.” A life estate is an interest in real property that is usually measured by the person holdi...

You've probably heard that a living trust can keep your estate out of probate when you die. But how exactly does this work? It's about ownership When you die, the assets you own no longer have an owner. The owner is dead. The probate process allows the court to appoint someone to take ownership o...

When you execute a revocable living trust, the terms of your trust are spelled out in the trust document. However, sometimes you want to replace those terms entirely. You do this by “restating” your trust. It's still the same trust, but with all new terms, spelled out in a new document, executed ...

The term “irrevocable” generally means that a trust cannot be revoked or modified/amended. However, the Probate Code provides options to modify or terminate an otherwise irrevocable trust in certain circumstances. These Probate Code sections can provide some helpful flexibility during a trust adm...

Neighbor Disputes are a Common Problem An average of 42% of Americans says they've been involved in a dispute with their neighbors. If you are feeling alone in this frustration – fear not. While most neighborly arguments don't turn into epic feuds, they can be frustrating to deal with. Some can e...

As you may or may not have noticed, the San Diego County Recorder (and other county recorders as well) have started charging a new $75 fee for each recorded document, effective January 1, 2018. This new fee is courtesy of Senate Bill 2 (“SB-2”), which authorizes the $75 charge on top of regular r...

Sexual harassment is a serious threat in the workplace. The recent #metoo movement has influenced local lawmakers to reconsider the protection policies in place. The state of California has adjusted employment laws beginning in 2019. Employers and employees should stay up-to-date on these new reg...

When a person dies, someone will need to wrap up the decedent's affairs, which includes managing the distribution of the person's property after death. If the person who died had a living trust, and the assets were properly titled, no probate will be needed. On the other hand, if the person held ...

Not all trust administrations are smooth and easy. Sometimes a trustee runs into difficulties that need to be overcome in order to complete the process. One of the most challenging problems of a trust administration is the loss of the trust document altogether. Without the trust document, the dec...

For a trust to be valid, certain requirements must be met. For instance, a trust must have trust property and a beneficiary. If it does not have both, it fails and a trust is not created. Sometimes the failure of the trust is not discovered until later. The question is, “Who holds title to proper...

California has a very strong public policy in favor of marriage, dating back to at least the 1800s. For instance, a provision in a prenuptial agreement that would encourage divorce between the parties is void. Similarly, a provision in a trust designed to prevent a beneficiary from getting marrie...

If you are the trustee of a trust, your goal is usually for the administration to go as smoothly as possible. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that way. Sometimes an unhappy beneficiary (or more than one) decides to contest the trust. A trust contest is a proceeding where an heir or bene...

Trusts are designed to make a post-death administration easier than probate. One of the advantages is the ability to avoid court supervision over the process. Unfortunately, however, sometimes disputes arise and court intervention becomes necessary to work out the issues. Many of these disputes w...

When a person dies leaving behind real property, sometimes there will be work to do to make sure the property is properly titled or transferred. Depending on how the property was held, this might be a relatively simple task, or it might be much more involved. Here are some common situations and a...

Most people are familiar with the term “statute of limitations.” This is essentially a statutory time limit imposed on your ability to file a claim. The time limit is different depending on the cause of action. For instance, the limitations period for a personal injury claim is 2 years from the d...

If you're looking to sell your business, there is a lot to consider. Of course you want to get the best deal, but you also want to comply with the law, minimize taxes, and make sure the new owner will take good care of your legacy. Whether selling your business is a long term or short term goal, ...

The United States Postal Service (USPS) released its annual report on employee dog bite statistics last month. Nationwide, the total number of attacks on USPS employees was 6,755 in 2016. This is an increase of over 200 compared to 2015. Rounding out the top 10 were the following cities: Los A...

Sometimes it becomes necessary to shut down your limited liability company (LLC). However, there are steps that need to be followed to properly dissolve a LLC. Here are the general steps involved in the LLC dissolution process in California. What triggers the dissolution of a LLC? There are sever...

When real property is transferred or sold in California, it is subject to reassessment at the current market value. The result is often an increase in the property taxes owed by the new owner; sometimes this is a significant increase. However, there are several transfer situations that are exclud...

If you execute a will or a trust prior to marriage or having a child, you may forget to update your estate plan to include your new spouse or child. The law in California presumes this was a mistake and entitles the omitted (or “pretermitted”) spouse or child to his or her share. This share is ge...

A postnuptial agreement is a contract made by spouses after marriage (as opposed to a prenuptial agreement). Postnuptial agreements are not to be confused with marital settlement agreements, which are executed as part of the divorce process. Married couples sometimes decide to enter into such con...

Real property (a house, a parcel of land, etc.) is a common subject of litigation. Two children might fight over their parents' house after the parents die. Neighbors might fight over a portion of land. Beneficiaries might dispute a will that leaves a family farm to someone outside the family. Du...