If the home belonged to your father, he could do whatever he wanted with it. Unfortunately, transferring real estate from one person to another MUST be in writing. [Verbal agreements are acceptable in other areas of the law, but they are not enforceable to transfer real estate from one owner to... View More

Two things: (1) Proposition 19 completely changed the property tax laws so the overwhelming majority of real estate in California will be reassessed to current value -- meaning property taxes will go up substantially in many cases -- so it isn't automatically true that the parent-child... View More

Please allow me to address your comment that you want to draft your own trust. I regularly tell clients that there are several legal documents that a template would work for, assuming the template is based on the correct state's law. But estate planning is unfortunately not one of those areas... View More

The accounting would normally start with the value of all assets that existed on the day your mother died. But, if there are no step-siblings (children from other marriages or relationships) then, in many cases, all of the children can agree in writing to avoid the forensic accounting and split the... View More

The answer to your question depends on what other assets your father had in his name only and whether your father had a trust, a will, or did no estate planning. A spousal property petition is certainly a good possibility. If you don’t want to use an attorney, you could try to draft the Petition... View More

People can only sell what they own. So, if someone owns 50% of a home, that person can ONLY sell 50% of the home. If both 50% owners are living in the home, both would see the "For Sale" sign in front of the home, which would be a clear indicator that something's wrong.

The... View More

The answer to your question depends on the dollar value of all your mom’s assets. Look only at the assets, not the debts (such as a mortgage, credit card debt, taxes owed, etc.). If the dollar value of all your mom’s assets — meaning what price would she get if she sold everything on the open... View More

A-B Trusts are common in blended family situations for this reason: In a traditional situation where a married couple has a standard revocable trust (NOT an A-B Trust), after the first spouse dies and leaves 100% of their assets to the other spouse, then the second spouse can do whatever they want... View More

Assuming you are the sole owner of the property, you can add whomever you'd like to your property. But beware, it may impact your property taxes. Double check with your accountant, so you understand the consequences of transferring real estate during your lifetime. It's often better to... View More

Transferring real estate from one person to another must be done in writing and the document must contain specific language showing it was the intent of the owner to transfer their ownership to the other person. If your grandmother did so in her will, then it’s likely you won’t be able to... View More

If your parents had separate trusts, it’s highly unlikely your mother would have any right to modify his trust document if your father were alive, but it’s even less likely she will be able to change his trust after he has passed.

The Trustee who steps up after the Settlor/Trustor dies... View More

I'm sorry for the loss of your father. There are strict ethical codes for lawyers who represent Trustees. Those lawyers are not allowed to represent or advise any beneficiaries. Lawyers have a choice of representing EITHER the Trustee (but only in his capacity as Trustee) OR represent one or... View More

I'm sorry to hear about your divorce. The judge in your divorce proceedings will say who is entitled to receive which asset and you will be able to take that document signed by the judge to your financial advisor (or the companies themselves) to transfer title to the appropriate person. If... View More

A lawyer would need more facts to be able to answer that question. For example, are any of the children from previous relationships (not with your current spouse)? If so, it may not make sense to have a Disclaimer Trust where one spouse leaves all of their assets to the other spouse because the... View More

Most estate planning attorneys would say to set up the trust before you make the distributions so you can transfer the assets directly to the trust, rather than transfer them to your personal accounts and then move your personal accounts into the name of the trust. But there could be tax... View More

No. The deed must be signed by the person who currently has the right to the control the property. If the property is in the name of a trust, the currently serving Trustee is the only one who has the power to transfer the ownership. If the person who passed away did not have the property titled in... View More

It's difficult to answer your question without more information. Is the person trying to evict you the trustee? If not, that person would not have legal standing, which is the right to bring a lawsuit over a particular topic. If that's the case, it's likely a demurrer would be more... View More

There are only two ways to transfer a house after someone passes away without a trust: (1) A Petition must be filed with the Probate Court and a judge issues a Judgment that says who will inherit the home; or (2) the deed to the home is a TOD -- transfer on death deed -- that says the name of the... View More

When someone loses a loved one, it isn’t common to get documentation related to the death within the first 30 days. The documentation you will receive depends on the dollar value of the deceased person’s total assets. Assuming your mother lived in California, if her assets are collectively... View More

Assuming your mother lived in California, the response to your question can be ascertained once you answer two questions: (1) Did your mother have a Trust or Will? (2) What is the collective dollar value of your mother's assets as of the date of her death? If her assets were valued at... View More