Court May Compel Mediation of California Trust Disputes

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Beneficiaries, Inheritance Disputes, Mediation, Ventura County Superior Court, Will/Trust Interpretation

Trust and estate litigators, and mediators, are buzzing over a recent decision from the California Court of Appeal that validates mandatory mediation of trust disputes.

In Breslin v. Breslin (Case No. B301382, decided January 26, 2021), the appellate court held that a California probate judge may order the private mediation of trust disputes and then disallow the objections of any nonparticipating parties to a settlement agreement reached in mediation.

The upshot of the case, assuming the opinion becomes final, is that probate judges may be more inclined to require pre-trial mediation and parties will need to participate to avoid waiving their beneficial interests. Continue Reading

Judge Joginder Dhillon to Preside, by Zoom, in Sacramento County Probate Department

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Sacramento County Superior Court

The probate unit of the Sacramento County Superior Court (Department 129) will have a new judge in February 2021.  Judge Joginder Dhillon will become the probate judge, replacing Judge Kevin R. Culhane who has served in that role since January 2020. Continue Reading

Lights, Cabin, Action! A Showdown Over Jurisdiction and Venue

By Christopher Miles Kolkey on Posted in Beneficiaries, Estate Administration, Jurisdiction, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Mono County Superior Court, Probate, Riverside County Superior Court, Trust Administration, Venue

One of the first steps before filing a lawsuit is to decide which court has jurisdiction over it and where it is properly venued.  It’s a significant choice – not only for strategic reasons, but also because a poor selection may prove fatal to the lawsuit.  Such a hefty decision is not always an easy one.  The concepts of “jurisdiction” and “venue” can often be confused and tangled, even by experienced lawyers and judges.  In the probate context, there can moreover exist extra layers of complexity that can torment a plaintiff who simply wants to vindicate his or her rights.

In Capra v. Capra (2020) __ Cal.App.5th __, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento wrestled with the interrelationship between the concepts of “jurisdiction” and “venue,” particularly in the probate context.  The court endeavored to slice through this Gordian knot, adding more clarity for plaintiffs who just want to commence their lawsuit on the right foot – or, in this case, courtroom. Continue Reading

Take a Fire Prevention Approach to Your Estate Plan

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Asset Distribution, Bank Trust Departments, Conflict Avoidance, Inheritance Disputes, Private Professional Fiduciaries, Probate, Trust Administration

As we enter the New Year, it’s a good time to revisit your estate plan.  The big question is whether your will, trust, power of attorney, and advance health care directive accomplish your personal objectives.  Guidance from an estate planner will help you review your plan in light of tax and other changes in the legal landscape, as well your evolving personal circumstances.

Consider also the possibility of family conflict, upon your incapacity or death, over the administration of your trust and estate.  A “fire danger” sign provides the perfect illustration.  What’s the risk of fire, i.e., litigation in a California probate court, involving your estate plan?  To further embrace the metaphor, what might you do, as a “fire prevention approach,” to reduce the possibility of divisive and expensive conflict? Continue Reading

What a Catch! California Courts Can Adjudicate Claims Against Nonresident Trustees

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Appeal, Los Angeles County Superior Court, Private Professional Fiduciaries, Trust Administration

What court should hear a dispute over a California trust?  I briefed this question last month when a judge questioned if a case should instead be adjudicated in neighboring states.  Such jurisdiction issues come up occasionally given the mobility of family members with interests in trusts.

A recent appellate case, Van Buskirk v. Van Buskirk (2020) 53 Cal.App.5th 523, shows the “long arm” jurisdictional reach of California courts in trust litigation.  California courts may leap, catch and decide disputes even when nonresident parties would prefer to litigate elsewhere. Continue Reading

When Do California Trust and Estate Cases Have Preference in Trial Setting or Appeal?

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Appeal, Financial Elder Abuse, Mental Capacity, Will/Trust Contests

Getting a civil or probate case to trial in California can take a long time.  The pandemic has backed up many courts given that criminal and civil trials starting in March 2020 were postponed.  While most California trust and estate disputes do not require juries, a multi-day court trial remains a challenge in a pandemic world.  If done virtually, how will witnesses testify and how will exhibits be handled?

The impact of the pandemic on the time to resolve California appeals is harder to read, but courts may be more lenient with extensions of time to file briefs and court personnel who review cases (like the rest of us) may be distracted by Zoom schooling their children.  The time it takes a California Court of Appeal to process a civil or probate case turns on many factors including composition of the three-justice panel to which the appeal is assigned.

When can you jump the line?  Now, more than ever, California trust and estate litigants should be aware of any statutory preferences they may have to get their cases decided sooner. Continue Reading

Trust on Trial Celebrates a Fifth Anniversary

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Estate Administration, Private Professional Fiduciaries, Sacramento County Superior Court, Trust Administration, Trustee Fees, Trustee Removal, Undue Influence

We started Trust on Trial with a post on undue influence in November 2015 and now mark the blog’s fifth anniversary.  We thank readers of our “five cents” for their feedback, reflect on where we’ve been, and look towards the future.

Focused on California trust and estate litigation, and dispute avoidance, we have published 127 posts since our launch.  Our posts are hosted on the LexBlog publishing platform and published on JD Supra, where we recently received a Top Author award.  This year, the University of California’s CEB program, a leading provider of continuing legal education, began to feature our posts on its website.

Most readers find our posts through organic search – that is, by entering search terms in Google or another search engine.  Google Analytics helps us track what posts draw readers to our blog. Continue Reading

Who Gets the Tahoe House and Other California Real Estate Inheritance Disputes

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Asset Distribution, Conflict Avoidance, Inheritance Disputes, Mediation, Probate, Trust Administration

Many California trust and estate disputes involve the allocation of real estate amongst several beneficiaries.  Mom and Dad, may they rest in peace, owned an upscale home in the Fab 40s neighborhood of East Sacramento, a sweet Tahoe vacation home, and a few rental duplexes, but did not specify how these assets were to be split between their children.  The daughter and/or son tapped to serve as successor trustee has to sort it out.

A trustee in California commonly has discretion to sell real property (the legal term for “real estate”), distribute it out to all beneficiaries in equal shares, or allocate it to one or more of them.  The beneficiaries, however, can object to the proposed distribution.  Trust and probate administration can grind to a bickering and litigious halt.  How do such conflicts over real property distribution unfold? Continue Reading

SB 1146 Facilitates Remote Depositions and Electronic Service, But Leaves Challenges in California Trust and Estate Litigation

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Evidence, Legislation, Will/Trust Contests

As we enter the eighth month of the COVID-19 pandemic, California courts and litigants continue to grapple with how to move civil cases forward.

Senate Bill 1146, approved by Governor Newsom on September 18, 2020, and effective immediately, facilitates the taking of depositions by allowing court reporters to attend remotely and enables electronic service of papers as to represented parties.  While these reforms are helpful, SB 1146 leaves challenges that may be heightened in trust and estate litigation. Continue Reading

Daughter Liable for Interfering with Stepmother’s Inheritance

By Jeffrey S. Galvin on Posted in Estate Planning, Financial Powers of Attorney, Inheritance Disputes, Mental Capacity, Shasta County Superior Court, Spouses, Undue Influence

Intentional interference with expected inheritance (IIEI) was recognized as a legal claim in California about eight years ago in Beckwith v. Dahl (2012) 205 Cal.App.4th 1039.  Last week, the Court of Appeal issued the first published opinion in California that affirms a judgment in favor of a plaintiff on an IIEI claim, thus providing guidance to trial judges and lawyers about what evidence is sufficient to sustain such claims.

In Gomez v. Smith (2020) ___ Cal.App.5th ___, the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento considered a ruling by a Shasta County Superior Court judge.  The judge concluded that the plaintiff should receive the benefit of a trust instrument that her late husband wanted to execute because two of his children precluded him from meeting with his lawyer to sign it.  We have written previously of conflicts between stepmothers and stepchildren – this is just such a tale with its own dramatic twists. Continue Reading

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