The Journal — Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Should I Sign a Receipt and Release to Get My Distribution?
Usually you can sign it, but not before you’ve seen the numbers, and not if it’s bundled with a release you haven’t read. Trustees are entitled to protection…
Read →The Trustee Wants Me to Waive the Accounting. Should I?
Sometimes yes, sometimes it’s void, and the difference depends on who is asking. A trustee asking beneficiaries to waive the accounting is making a request the law permits…
Read →How Do I Find Out Who the Trustee of a Trust Is?
There is no public registry of trustees in California. Trusts aren’t filed with any court or agency while they’re working properly, which is exactly why finding the trustee…
Read →Can I See the Trust While My Parent Is Still Alive?
No, and the answer surprises people who assume being named in a trust gives them a right to read it. While your parent is alive and competent, the…
Read →What Trust Administration Actually Costs in California
Trust administration has no statutory fee schedule. That’s the single most important difference from probate, and it cuts both ways: nobody is entitled to a percentage, and nobody…
Read →Probate or Trust Administration: Which One Are You Actually In?
These are two different processes with different rules, different timelines, and very different costs, and people routinely start the wrong one. The question that sorts it is not…
Read →Flat Fee or Hourly for a California Probate? Neither, Mostly
In a California probate the attorney’s ordinary fee is not negotiable in the way people assume. It’s set by statute. Prob. Code § 10810 fixes it at 4%…
Read →You Inherited a House With a Tenant in It
You inherited the house and it came with a tenant. The tenant’s lease did not die with your parent. Whoever now holds title stepped into the landlord’s shoes…
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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