No, unfortunately. All real estate transactions MUST be in writing and signed by the person giving up their ownership. That's the law. Hopefully, your mother had a Trust (not a Will) and the Trust says you will receive the property. Otherwise, it's likely the property will be divided... View More

If a lawyer tells you the names of all the documents you need to file with the court, it will not help you unless you know how to draft the documents and what elements must be included in each one. In your situation, you really need an attorney to advise you because you could potentially have... View More

There are many different ways to accomplish your objectives and each way has different tax implications. Depending on the amount a person wants to give away, he could give a gift of up to $17,000 (in 2023) per year without taxes. The recipient does not need to be a relative. But, if a person gives... View More

I'm sorry you're going through that. If your grandmother had assets that are valued at more than $184,500 and she did not have a trust, one of your relatives or you will have to open a Probate matter in the Probate Court. That is a very detailed process and, if you don't know what... View More

In California, the law requires that Successor Trustees (or, as I refer to them, "backup trustees") give formal notice to all of the trust's beneficiaries and the legal heirs of the person who passed away. This notice must have very specific language that is set out in the law or it... View More

I cannot imagine you could get title to the real estate without a court order. A deed transferring title from one owner to another must be signed either by the current owner (obviously deceased in your situation) or someone who has been given legal authority to sign on behalf of the current owner.... View More

The transaction you propose sounds simple but, unfortunately, it is more complicated than it seems. Depending on how the transaction is structured, there could be tax consequences. As a result, it is difficult for a lawyer to answer your question without going into various options and the tax... View More

Your mother needs to see an estate planning lawyer because there are tax consequences to transferring real estate to a child during the parent's lifetime, and it's likely your mother needs a Trust, not a Will. But a lawyer cannot say definitively one way or the other without first talking... View More

If your parents did not have the house in a trust, your parents are the only ones on title, and the home is worth more than $184,500, there is no way to sell or transfer the property without a court order. Someone in your family needs to open a case in Probate Court. People cannot sign the names... View More

The answer to your question will depend on the language of your particular trust. In some cases, it will be a conflict of interest, but in many other situations, serving in two roles is expressly allowed by the trust. If the goal of both roles is the same, i.e., getting the highest possible price... View More

Depending on the language in your specific Trust, it’s possible someone could bring a motion in court to appoint a new person as Trustee. The court that would handle such a motion is the Probate Court. But that doesn’t necessarily mean all the assets in the trust would have to go through the... View More

The answer to your question depends on the type of powers you were given by the Probate Court. If you haven't yet been through the probate process and the deceased person had a Will (not a trust), you won't be able to do anything with the property until you are issued Letters by the... View More

There is no automatic inheritance unless someone does no estate planning. If someone dies without a Will or Trust, the law says who inherits the assets. Your question doesn’t say if the deceased parent did any estate planning but, if there is a Will or Trust, then that document will say who... View More

The only way an attorney can answer your question is to review all of your assets, ask your main goals (besides what is listed in your question), and gather more information. But I'll give you a general answer. In California, anyone who has assets that collectively total $184,500 in value has... View More

Each Durable Power of Attorney ("DPOA") is written differently, so we would need to know if the DPOA goes into effect immediately upon being signed or only goes into effect if the person loses mental capacity (a physician would need to certify that that's the case.) Either way, when... View More

The answer to your question depends on the type of Power of Attorney and the language in your particular document. Giving advice about a contract without being able to read the document is a lot like saying, “Here is a book about X, tell me if it’s good… but you can’t read it first.” In... View More

Just taking care of a home does not give anyone rights in the property -- other than the right to be paid if the worker was hired by someone else. Otherwise, if people could care for a home and automatically get ownership rights, every caretaker of every home would be very rich! If your friend had... View More

Unless there is a specific reason the home is being left in the trust, you could save money by transferring taking it out of the trust and transferring it to the beneficiary or beneficiaries listed in the trust. The County Recorder will ask to see a copy of the trust to ensure people aren’t... View More

The answer to your question really depends on your goals. If you want a number of subsidiaries, you may want to form an S Corporation. But most people who set up an entity for the sole purpose of holding real estate will use an LLC. You should contact a California lawyer and give them more... View More

The first thing you may want to try is going to the courthouse in the County where your father and his wife lived, and search the case files on the court’s database to see if there is an adoption case in your step-siblings’ names. Some courts’ records are online and others have an app, so you... View More