The Journal — Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Irrevocable Trust After Death vs. During Life (California)
The trust the grantor managed during life and the trust a successor trustee administers after death are legally different instruments. Here's what shifts.
Read →How to Remove a Co-Trustee in California
Serving with a co-trustee who won't cooperate or account puts your own liability at risk, not just the trust's. Here's how removal works and what to do while…
Read →How to File the Prop 19 Parent-Child Exclusion (California)
Qualifying for the Prop 19 exclusion and actually getting it are two different things. Here's what filing the BOE-19-P form actually requires.
Read →How to Distribute Trust Assets to Beneficiaries in California
A trust doesn't distribute itself. Someone decides what goes to whom, when, and in what form, and that someone is legally on the hook if they get it…
Read →How to Contest a Trust in California
Contesting a trust isn't a formality, it's litigation with real deadlines and a real burden of proof. Here's what grounds actually hold up and how the process works.
Read →Heggstad Petition Process: Filing, Evidence, Timeline (CA)
Confirming an omitted asset into a trust isn't automatic. Here's the filing process, the evidence a judge wants to see, and the real timeline.
Read →Grounds for Trustee Removal Under §15642 in California
Not every complaint about a trustee is a legal basis for removing them. Here's what §15642 actually requires, ground by ground, and how courts weigh the evidence.
Read →Generation-Skipping Trust Administration in California
A trust naming grandchildren triggers a separate federal tax regime. Here's what a trustee has to track, file, and report to stay compliant.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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