Having a basic understanding of estate planning terms can be helpful when working through the process. However, it is easy to get confused. For example, two terms often used (and misunderstood) are “trustees” and “executors.” Both a trustee and an executor are persons selected to hold and manage assets of…
Given the state of the economy, many people are giving loans to their children. While it is very generous of parents to loan money to their children, it can create several problems down the road. Most parents give money to their children but do not expect to ever be paid…
TMZ has an article which discusses the probate issues with Dennis Hopper. Probate is the process by which a court administers an estate. Dennis Hopper recently died. He was married and filed for a divorce but his divorce was not final when he died. He also had a prenuptial which…
The San Diego Superior Court has a probate court in the North County Branch in Vista. Department N-23 hears probate matters and the only other court in San Diego County is at the Madge Bradley Court House in downtown San Diego. Each probate court has its own policies and procedures…
The San Diego Superior Court website has information about probate and other areas of the law. For probate, each department has its own policies and procedures. This article will focus on some of the procedures and policies for Department 2. For ex parte, or emergency hearings, which are contested are…
In San Diego, the San Diego Superior Court has three probate departments. Each department is different for the policies and procedures. This will be a series of three postings with links to the San Diego Superior Court website page with that probate court policies and procedures. These can change without…
The United States Supreme Court, on June 23, 2011, decided that the order from the Bankruptcy Judge did not have the consitutional authority to “reach” into probate court. In San Diego, there are different courts for different issues. The San Diego Superior Court decides probate cases and the United States…
The New York Times, in an article from 2011, discusses that avoiding probate with a revocable living trust is a very good strategy. Using a revocable living trust can avoid the probate system in which a will is determined to be valid or not valid and the estate is administered…
The Los Angeles Tmes, in an article from 2011, has an extremely short article on this issue. In the article, it is stressed that understanding probate and trusts can make it easier to manage assets after death and during life. The probate administration process can be very complicated and legal…
In San Diego, many parties involved in probate litigation would like to settle their case. In some cases, emotions and other factors may prevent this. The San Diego County Superior Court has a probate mediation program. Mediation, in probate court, is a non binding and confidential process in which a…