Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law the “Respect After Death Act.” This law requires persons completing a death certificate to report the deceased person’s correct “gender identity.” The law, sponsored by California Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins, is designed to clarify the responsibilities of coroners and funeral directors on this…
Articles Posted in NEWS AND COMMENTARY
California Appeals Court Expands Protections Against Elder Financial Abuse
On September 3, a California appeals court issued a landmark decision on the subject of financial abuse of the elderly. California maintains strict laws designed to protect persons aged 65 and above, who are more susceptible to fraud. In this case, the appeals court found the law could apply to…
Delaware Sparks National Debate Over New Probate Laws for “Digital Assets”
“Digital assets” remain an unsettled area of estate planning law. While it is long-established that a person may leave physical assets, such as books or photo albums, to someone else via a will or trust, that is not necessarily the case for digital copies of the same items stored in…
Can a Creditor Challenge a Trustee’s Mismanagement?
When you create a living trust, you transfer personal assets to a trustee, who then manages those assets on your behalf. In most cases, this won’t be a problem, since you can name yourself as trustee during your lifetime. But when someone else serves as trustee, he or she owes…
When Does a “Revocable” Living Trust Become Irrevocable?
A revocable living trust is a flexible estate planning device that allows you to transfer your property to a trustee–usually yourself–thereby reducing those assets subject to a court-supervised probate after your death. Your trust document names a successor trustee to assume responsibility for the trust assets after your death. And…
The Dangers of Using a Pre-Printed Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document whereby a person, known as the “principal,” grants to another person, known as the “attorney-in-fact,” the authority to act on his or her behalf in certain financial matters. The attorney-in-fact is an agent and therefore owes a fiduciary duty to the principal.…
Collecting Payments After Your Death
Although you might think of an estate plan simply as a way to dispose of your existing assets, in fact your future estate might also be responsible for collecting additional income generated after your death. If you work in the entertainment industry, for example, your estate may still collect residual…
Establishing Paternity for Probate Purposes
When the law speaks of “heirs,” it refers to those individuals entitled to inherit a person’s estate in the absence of a valid last will and testament. For example, if you live in California and die without a will or a spouse, but you do have children, those children are…
Making Your Intentions Clear in a Will
A successful estate plan makes the final distribution of a person’s property plain and clear. Ambiguity in a will or trust may lead to costly litigation over conflicting interpretations of a person’s intent. But even the best executed estate plan may still leave some unhappy heirs, as one recent California…
Naming Backup Beneficiaries In Your Will or Trust
In creating a will or trust, a person may make specific bequests of property to a chosen beneficiary. But what happens if that beneficiary does not survive the person making the bequest? A well-drafted will or trust must anticipate such contingencies. Either the document should name an alternate beneficiary, or…