As you prepare your estate plan, many of the decisions you have to make relate to your children. You may not have thought about how you would want your estate distributed to your minor children if something should happen to you. Would it go to your children equally? Should it…
Guardianship in California is the court process by which a person other than a parent is given custody of a minor child or given the authority to manage a child’s estate. The petition for guardianship can be filed by a relative or “any other person on behalf of the minor.”…
Celebrity deaths often highlight various estate planning issues as prior posts have discussed. Michael Jackson’s death brought public awareness to issues about choosing your executor and trustees, pour over wills, and guardianship. You may recall that Michael Jackson named his mother as guardian of his children. His second choice was…
Many people want to leave their grandchildren something when they pass away. It may be small or it may be significant. There are several ways to do this, some better than others. When you draft your estate plan, you have no way of knowing whether some of your beneficiaries are…
The San Diego Probate Courts hear many guardianship cases each week, in the North County Branch or the downtown branch. A probate guardianship is the appointment by the Court of an adult or adults who will have legal guardianship over a minor child. There are two types of guardianships: (1)…
San Diego County is home to many members of the military stationed at Camp Pendleton, MCRD, MCAS Miramar, and the various Navy facilities such as 32nd Street Naval Station, Navy Submarine Support Facilities and Naval Base Coronado. When a member of the military gets orders to deploy out of the…
Unfortunately, it occasionally happens that both parents of a minor child die in a common event or accident. If both parents die without an estate plan, a probate judge will have to appoint a guardian. A guardian is responsible for taking care of their “ward” until the child turns 18.…
In San Diego, there are many instances of when an emergency guardianship would be necessary. A hearing would have to be set up in advance with the Clerk’s Office as [many times] there is no existing case number to file a petition for emergency guardianship under. In San Diego, there…
In San Diego, California many residents are in the military. As we know, deployments are common. In light of the recent call to active duty received by thousands of United States military reservists, employers and employees alike need to know their obligations to each other when employees serve in the…