PROBATE

Published on: June 20, 2016

Should I Require My Executor to Post Bond?

One issue that comes up when making a will is whether to require your designated personal representative (a/k/a executor) to post a bond. California law requires any personal representative to post bond as a condition of his or her appointment. The purpose of the bond is to protect the interested persons in your estate, i.e. the beneficiaries named in your will. The personal representative’s job, after all, is to ensure your beneficiaries receive their inheritance. The bond helps insure against an unscrupulous personal representative who misappropriates estate property for some other purpose.

Of course, you can choose to waive the state’s bond requirement in your will. In fact, many people do just that given that their chosen executor is usually someone they trust, such as a spouse or child. In cases where the deceased did not leave a will, the beneficiaries of the estate may also choose to waive the bond requirement by written notice to the probate court.

Requiring a Bond After Administrator Fails to Account for Funds

Published on: June 17, 2016

What Happens to My Child Support Obligations if I Die?

by Scott C. Soady

One of the most important reasons to make an estate plan is to provide for your family after you are gone, but family can be a legally complicated concept. For instance, if you voluntarily make child support payments for a minor who does not live with you, do those payments automatically end upon your death? Alternatively, can an ex-spouse enforce a child support order contained in a divorce decree against your estate?

Child Support Can Be Enforced as a Creditor’s Claim

A recent New Jersey case illustrates how these questions can play out in court. The case involves the estate of a New Jersey man who had a son with a woman who lives in New York. In 2008, the parents entered into a voluntary child support agreement whereby the father agreed to pay the mother $3,000 per month in child support until the son reached the age of 21. The father also agreed to separately pay the child’s medical and educational expenses. A New York State court subsequently entered a child support order based on the parents’ agreement.

Published on: June 8, 2016

How Creditor Claims Can Affect Your Estate

by Scott C. Soady

Estate planning is not just about taking care of your family. It is also about taking care of your creditors. Your death does not magically make your debts disappear. The personal representative of your estate has a legal obligation to pay your valid debts from the assets in your probate estate before distributing the remainder to your heirs or the beneficiaries named in your will.

Death of NBA Team Co-Owner Raises Creditor Concerns Over Potential Sale

Creditor claims can significantly complicate the administration of a probate estate. An ongoing high-profile probate case in Oklahoma offers a useful illustration. In March of this year, Aubrey McLendon, a well-known natural gas company executive, died in a single-car crash. Among his many assets, McLendon owned approximately 20% of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder franchise. McLendon was part of a group that purchased and relocated the former Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City in 2008.

Published on: June 7, 2016

What Happens When a Family Member Compromises My Estate Plan?

by Scott C. Soady

Selecting a personal representative or executor for your estate is often the most important estate planning decision you will make. In most cases a spouse or family member is named as executor. But there may be situations in which you may wish to consider someone from outside the family, such as a professional fiduciary, to oversee the distribution of your assets after your death.

Daughter Ordered to Return Funds Illegally Diverted from Father’s Estate

For example, there may be times when you do not trust a family member to deal honestly and equitably with other family members. A recent case from here in California offers a useful illustration. This case involves an estate asset that was located nearly 20 years after the estate was opened. The deceased was a man with three children. He did not name any of the children as executor, but rather appointed an outside person to the role.

Published on: June 4, 2016

Can My Ex-Spouse Claim My Estate After I Die?

by Scott C. Soady

Divorce often alters a person’s estate planning priorities. After all, if you previously signed a will leaving your entire estate to your spouse, you probably want to reconsider that arrangement after your divorce becomes final. California law assumes that any gift you make to an ex-spouse under a pre-divorce will is revoked unless you expressly state otherwise. This assumes that the divorce itself becomes final before one of the spouses dies.

Court Fines Man $15,000 for Trying to Void Divorce After Ex-Wife’s Death

In a recent case, a California appeals court sanctioned a man who attempted to declare his earlier divorce void so that he could inherit from his deceased ex-wife’s estate. According to court records, the couple legally separated in 2009. In November 2010, following extended mediation, the parties filed a stipulated judgment—a divorce settlement—with a California Superior Court judge. A copy of the judgment signed by both spouses and stamped with the judge’s signature was then filed with the court clerk’s office.

Published on: May 28, 2016

Taxi Medallion Sale Highlights Importance of Making a Will

by Scott C. Soady

It is always a good idea to make a will. Although the law of intestacy provides for the distribution of your assets if you die without leaving a will, making a will (or trust) allows you to decide who should inherit from your estate. This can be especially important if you are married but have children from a prior marriage. In California, the law of community property can result in those children receiving little or nothing if you fail to leave a will.

Stewart-Williams v. Williams

Here is a recent example from a California Court of Appeal decision. This should not be construed as legal advice or a complete statement of California law on this subject. This is merely a case illustrating how the probate courts deal with community property of a deceased individual who does not have a will.

Published on: May 26, 2016

Can a Probate Court Admit an Earlier Version of My Will?

by Scott C. Soady

Signing a last will and testament is often not a one-time affair. You may in fact execute several wills over the course of your lifetime. While a “last” will usually refers to the document signed most recently before your death, there are occasions when a California probate court may find good cause to admit an earlier will.

Judge Nullifies Will Favoring Stepdaughter Over Biological Children

For example, in a recent case from Los Angeles, a state appeals court upheld a probate judge’s decision to admit a decedent’s next-to-last will over his last will. The probate court found the last will was the product of undue influence but the previous will was not. The court therefore admitted that will to probate over the objections of the decedent’s children.

Published on: May 21, 2016

Can My Stepchildren Inherit From My Estate?

by Scott C. Soady

Recently a California appeals court faced an unusual situation. A woman wanted to reopen her late husband’s estate nearly 25 years after his death. The widow claimed there was a “clerical error” in the original probate court order that led to the unintentional omission of her children from a prior marriage—that is, her husband’s stepchildren—from inheriting part of his estate.

Under the husband’s will certain property, notably three pieces of real estate, was placed with the wife in trust. As long as the wife remains alive, she receives all of the income from the trust property. Upon her death, according to the will, “the trust estate would be distributed in equal shares to each of decedent’s children then living and each group of issue of a deceased child.”

The wife served as personal representative of her husband’s estate. She apparently did not retain a probate lawyer to assist her. In 1992, she filed a petition to approve the distribution of estate property according to the terms of the will. The final order approved by the probate judge only included the husband’s children as “children” entitled to inherit under the will. But as it turned out, there was language in the will that included the wife’s children, the husband’s stepchildren, as intended beneficiaries of the trust.

Published on: May 19, 2016

What Happens to My Social Security Payments When I Die?

by Scott C. Soady

Nearly 60 million Americans receive Social Security benefits. Approximately two-thirds of these recipients are retired workers. According to Social Security, retirement benefits “represent about 39 percent of the income of the elderly.” But what happens to those benefits after the recipient dies? Can your estate continue to receive your Social Security payments?

Retirement Benefits After Death

With respect to retirement benefits, Social Security ends upon your death. Indeed, it is essential to notify Social Security of a recipient’s death as soon as possible. In many cases, a funeral director hired by the family will take care of this duty.

Published on: May 11, 2016

Can a Beneficiary Question the Handling of a Revocable Trust?

by Scott C. Soady

A trust refers to any agreement where a person—the settlor—transfers certain property to a trustee, who must then administer that property as directed by the trust instrument. In estate planning, a revocable living trust allows the settlor to name herself as trustee during his lifetime and a successor trustee who takes office upon the settlor’s death. The trust is “revocable” in that the settlor may remove some or all of the property from the trust while she is still alive. But once the settlor dies, the trust may become irrevocable and the successor trustee is bound by the settlor’s instructions.

Daughter Not Entitled to Trust Information Prior to Father’s Death

A trust typically names one or more beneficiaries. For example, you might create a revocable living trust naming your children as beneficiaries upon your death. Trust beneficiaries enjoy certain rights under California law. In 2012, the California Supreme Court held that when a living trust names someone other than the settlor as trustee, the beneficiaries could seek a court order demanding an accounting of the trust’s finances for the period when the trust was still revocable—i.e., during the settlor’s lifetime.