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Hannah is a senior associate in Downey Brand LLP's wealth transfer practice group and is certified by the State Bar of California Board of Legal Specialization as a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law. Her practice concentrates on creating and developing highly tailored and comprehensive estate plans, with an emphasis on addressing each client's unique individual needs and concerns. (Read more...)

Traditionally, the creation of a valid will, in California and elsewhere, required strict adherence to certain formalities.  Estate law has been tepidly moving away from requiring compliance with those formalities, with a goal of prioritizing the intent of the person creating the will (the “Testator”).  Nine states have gone so far as to enact laws

Narcotics Anonymous established a revocable trust to manage its literature and other intellectual property assets for the benefit of its many members.  A “regional delegate group” filed a petition in Los Angeles probate court claiming that the trustee was breaching its fiduciary duties.

The California Court of Appeal, in Autonomous Region of Narcotics Anonymous v.