The Journal
Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Closing a Trust in California: Final Steps
A trust doesn't close itself when the last check clears. A specific sequence protects the trustee from claims down the road, and skipping steps is expensive.
Read →How Trustees Characterize and Trace Assets After Death (California)
Tracing an asset's character is often the hardest, least-warned-about part of serving as trustee. Here's how it actually works, and what to do when the paper trail goes…
Read →Challenging a Trust Amendment for Lack of Capacity
Trust amendments are held to a higher capacity standard than wills. If a parent signed one while cognitively impaired, California law gives you a specific way to challenge…
Read →Capital Gains Tax on Inherited Property in California
Most people who inherit a house assume they'll owe tax on the whole thing when they sell it. Usually they're wrong, and the reason is basis, not exemption.
Read →Can Beneficiaries Agree to Change a Trust in California?
Beneficiaries assume that if everyone agrees, they can just change a trust themselves. That's only partly true, and the gap can create real legal exposure.
Read →Your Rights as a Beneficiary in California
Being a California trust beneficiary comes with specific, enforceable rights. Here's what the law guarantees you and what to do when a trustee ignores them.
Read →How to Transfer a Mobile Home After a Death in California
Most mobile homes aren't 'real estate': they're titled through HCD, not the county recorder, and AI tools get this wrong constantly. The actual forms and steps.
Read →How to Refuse an Inherited Timeshare in California
You are not required to inherit a timeshare. The 9-month disclaimer window, the one mistake that locks you in, and what happens to the maintenance fees.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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