Estate Planning Archives

Court Protects Narcotics Anonymous Trust From Rebels

Since 1953, Narcotics Anonymous has maintained a Fellowship for which the sole membership requirement is a “desire to stop using.” After 40 years, the Fellowship created a revocable charitable trust to help manage its literature, along with other intellectual property…

She Gets Twice the Reward for ‘Homophobic’ Bro’s El Sobrante Betrayal

It seemed like a loving family. Lucille Keading’s 2015 obituary described her 65-year marriage as “the romance of a lifetime.” A few months later, her husband Lewis’ mournful obit appeared. It called him an “understanding father.” That masked the battle…

Couple’s Final Wishes Surprise Entire Town

It certainly pays to be nice to your neighbors. For more than 40 years, Renate and Alfred Wedel lived quietly in a large house with extensive grounds in Waldsoms, Germany, a leafy village north of Frankfurt. Alfred, a self-employed stockbroker,…

GPOA Powerholder Acts in Nonfiduciary Capacity

The grieving Harry Berkowitz could hardly have imagined what would follow when he had three hats to wear under the law after his wife died in 2011. Her death triggered the creation of a marital trust that contained a General…

Trustee May Self-Represent to Determine Settlor Intent

It takes a particular type of family dysfunction for brothers and sisters to take their fight to courtroom after courtroom after courtroom for 12 years. Meet the Donkin clan. Back before everybody squared off before their first judge, parents Rodney…

Aerial view of Los Angeles city and palms trees

Court to ‘Rescue’ Sisters: Don’t Leave California With Mom Like That

Depending on who you believe, Walter Van Buskirk Jr. was either a devoted son whose care allowed his mom, Ellen Van Buskirk, to live in her Santa Monica home until illness sent her to a rehab facility—or a ne’er-do-well who…

A person is putting their hand on an elder's hand who's sitting in a wheelchairs

Grandma Can Amend Trust Despite False Beliefs

Is it real—or did grandma lack of capacity to amend a trust? It’s the painful question asked when a loved ones’ behavior seems to be on the edge of the shadowlands. It’s worse if its sad aftermath obscures a family’s…

Estate planning worksheet with a pair of glasses on top

Three Estate Planning Keys for Solo and Small Firm Attorneys

Do you know who would make decisions for you if you lost capacity? Have you designated guardians for your children to act if you’re not around? How confident are you that your assets will go to the right people, in…

Female hands with burning candle in the dark

Give It Away Now: Billionaire Went Broke Intentionally

He’s the “ultimate example of giving while living,” says Bill Gates, himself no slouch when it comes to charitable donations. Chuck Feeney pioneered luxury on the cheap with his Duty-Free Shoppers stores in airports all around the world. Decades of…

TV’s Wyatt Earp Fought Off a Mob of Unclaimed Heirs

Hugh O’Brian channeled his straight-shooting Old West lawman elsewhere once he became famous as TV’s Wyatt Earp. Inspired by an encounter with the humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, the actor created a youth leadership organization that remains one of America’s most prominent.…

Last Chance to Prevent Property Tax Reassessment for the Kids

Effective February 16, 2021, most parent-child gifts of real estate will be subject to reassessment thanks to Proposition 19. Subject to limitations, only the parent’s principal residence or farm will be excluded from reassessment if (and that’s a big if!)…

Trust Revocation Wordplay

There’s an old saying that remodeling a home is like pulling a loose string on a sweater—go too far, and it all unravels. Robert Cundall, John Martin, and Frances Diaz were neighbors and friends before things fell apart. In 2008,…

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