The Journal — Plain-English Estate Law
Plain-English guidance on wills, trusts, probate, and protecting your family in California.
Trust Contest vs. Will Contest: California Difference
People say "contest the will" even when only a trust exists. The two proceedings share legal grounds but differ sharply in court, deadline, and difficulty.
Read →Trust Administration vs. Probate: Key Differences (CA)
Whether you're headed into court or a private administration was decided years before the death. Here's how to tell which one applies, and why it matters.
Read →Transmutation Agreements and Trust Assets in California
A married couple can change what kind of property an asset is just by agreeing to it in writing. If that agreement exists, it controls over everything else.
Read →Transferring Real Property Out of a Trust in California
Getting a house out of a trust and into a beneficiary's name takes a properly drafted deed, the right recording steps, and the paperwork title companies expect to…
Read →Surviving Spouse Rights in Trust Administration (California)
A surviving spouse isn't waiting on a distribution for their half of the community property. They already own it. Here's the difference that makes.
Read →Surcharge Actions Against a Trustee in California
A surcharge order makes a trustee personally repay the trust for losses their breach caused. Here's what's recoverable and how these cases get built.
Read →Successor Trustee Checklist: First 30 Days in California
A week-by-week checklist for new California successor trustees covering the first month of trust administration, from securing the house to sending statutory notice.
Read →Stepped-Up Basis in a California Trust, Explained
A trustee who sells inherited property at the wrong basis can hand beneficiaries a tax bill that never needed to exist. Here's how stepped-up basis actually works.
Read →Want a straight read on where you stand?
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