Charities sometimes spar over entitlement to bequests and other planned gifts. Occasionally, their disagreements become epic legal battles that span many years.

In Breathe Southern California v. American Lung Association…

Dementia casts a long shadow in California trust and estate litigation. Contestants claim that an elder with dementia lacked sufficient mental capacity to make an estate planning change, or that dementia…

It has become more common for trustors to select someone who is not a beneficiary of the trust estate, often a close relative, to serve as trustee. While the “crown”…

When does a California estate planning attorney owe a duty of care to people other than the client?  Planners can breathe easier after a recent appellate ruling. The court clarified…

Who’s your father for inheritance purposes in California? Family Code section 7540(a) states that “the child of spouses who cohabited at the time of conception and birth is conclusively presumed…

This blog has devoted a lot of real estate to the use of anti-SLAPP motions in California trust and estate litigation. Though the courts’ treatment of such motions is varied…

A recent California appellate opinion provides guidance on the interplay between applications for elder abuse restraining orders and special motions to strike (also known as anti-SLAPP motions). The opinion tells…

As the New York Times reported in December, “ChatGPT is, quite simply, the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public.” Built by OpenAI, a San Francisco-based company…

Here’s another reason (uno más in Spanish) to create and properly execute a will. If your spouse or other trusted designee lives out of the country when you die…