Tag: San Diego County Superior Court

Home Is Where You Lay Your Sombrero – Spouse Who Lives Abroad Cannot Serve as Administrator of Husband’s Estate

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, he or she won’t be eligible to administer your California estate. The recent case of Estate of El Wardani (2022) 82 Cal.App.5th 870, involving a San … Continue Reading

Trust Modification/Amendment Procedure Now Unsettled in California

[Editor’s Note: The California Supreme Court granted review of Haggerty v. Thornton on December 22, 2021 in Case No. S271483.  The Supreme Court is likely to resolve the conflict between Haggerty v. Thornton and King v. Lynch.  In the meantime, per the Supreme Court’s order, the Haggerty opinion remains citable.] The Legislature and courts endeavor … Continue Reading

Immortal Right — Income Beneficiary’s Entitlement to Accounting Continues After Death

Many California trusts confer a lifetime right to income on a person (often the surviving spouse) with the remainder passing to designated survivors upon the income beneficiary’s death.  When the income beneficiary dies, is it too late for the executor of the beneficiary’s estate to request an accounting for the purpose of evaluating whether the … Continue Reading

Your Slice of the Pizza – Only Directly Inherited Asset Qualifies as Separate Property

(Editor’s Note: The Court of Appeal granted rehearing on December 2, 2019 and later depublished the portion of its opinion discussed below such that it is no longer citable authority in California courts.) It is widely understood in California that inherited assets, unlike assets earned from labor, are the separate property of the receiving spouse.  … Continue Reading
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