Ventura County Superior Court

The California Courts of Appeal are typically pretty stingy with their published opinions – only about 10% of Court of Appeal decisions are published in the Official Reports.  And per Rule 8.1105 of the California Rules of Court, appellate decisions are supposed to be published only if they meet one of a certain set

There’s a saying amongst attorneys that “bad facts make bad law.”  By extension, “really bad facts” can throw probate procedure into flux by making it harder to qualify for an evidentiary hearing.  That’s arguably what happened in Conservatorship of Farrant (2021) 67 Cal.App.5th 370, a decision issued this month by the California Court

(Editor’s Note: This post has been updated following the Court of Appeal’s opinion after rehearing on April 5, 2021, and the Supreme Court’s subsequent denial of review or depublication.)

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