I saw this great piece on the Wall Street Journal’s webpage. It is a chart of succession to the throne. It reminds me of the California laws of intestacy. That is, if someone dies who inherits their stuff. In this Wall Street Journal piece, on wsj.com, it’s who will inherit the THRONE!  Anyway, check it […]

INTRODUCTION A little known area of California probate law relates to the issue of predeceased spouse. That is, the children of the first spouse to die. In some cases they have an interest when the second spouse, their “step-parent,” dies. This post is loosely based on a real case but, of course, the facts changed […]

Roseville, California.  John Palley will be the main speaker at the Placer County Association of Realtorsmeeting on July 16, 2013. He will be talking about real estate sales in probate cases. His entire outline is below   Placer County Association of Realtors – July 16, 2013 By: John B. Palley, Esq. I.          Introduction   Johnson, […]

INTRODUCTION The #1 reason why you should review your estate plan when you get re-married is to avoid the pretermitted spouse problem. GENERALLY California law, at probate code section 21610-21612, (which I will paste below for easy reference) presumes that a person wants to provide for later born children and/or later married spouses. It’s just […]

Many people know that you can search for lost money on the California Secretary of State website as well as similar sites in most every other state in the union. Also, foundmoney.com is another great resource. Lost money, found money, unclaimed property, or whatever you want to call it. They are ASSETS that should be […]

INTRODUCTION An estate planning attorney should be precise in their work. At times clients think we are over the top at our office when we re-do something. We explain there is a reason.  If something is done the tiniest bit wrong it could be a HUGE problem later on. TODAY’S PROBLEM Today I am helping […]

I work hard on this blawg (law blog) every week. Sometimes more than once a week. I know of many lawyers who follow it. Some of you I know and some I do not. I would really appreciate your consideration in nominating my blog on this page for the ABA Blawg awards of 2013. Thank […]

I just renewed my membership to the Sacramento Estate Planning Council. I have been a member since 1995. Is your attorney?  If not, why not?  It’s a group of professionals dedicated to serving their clients in the area of estate planning law. There are attorneys, CPAs, bank officers, and financial planners. The meetings are monthly […]