I primarily represent the fiduciary in my trust and probate cases. That is I represent the trustee, executor, administrator or personal representative. That is, the person who has been in-trusted to gather assets, determine liabilities, deal with taxes and eventually distribute the assets. However, there are some cases when I represent a beneficiary. In most […]

Your attorney has recommend you go to mediation to settle the dispute with your brother related to your mom or dad’s death.  Or maybe the probate Judge has ordered you to go to mediation before they will hear your case any more in Court.  Will mediation help you settle your dispute?  In this attorney’s opinion […]

At least once a week I get a call from a perspective client that goes something like this: ME: “Good morning this is John Palley….” CLIENT: “I need your help fast… we are trying to sell mom’s house… it might be in foreclosure… and the mortgage company won’t talk to me since we haven’t started […]

The word probate conjures up awful images.  Attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, magazines, newspapers, and everybody talks about how awful probate is.  It makes you think of an old Judge, “taxes,” and you have been told it takes YEARS to finish.  None of that is reality.  Probate is not great but… I am here to say […]

Ok, maybe it’s not exactly a “resolution” but I think it’s akin to it.  Many people go into the new year with a list of self improvement goals, including the thought to get their estate plan done.  The list might be something like this: – Go the gym at least 5 days a week; – […]

How many people would be so excited if you foundsome brand new lawyer willing to prepare their trust for $500?  What a deal, right?  An experienced attorney like myself might charge $2,000, or more, for a living trust package for a husband and wife.  Some charge $5,000 and up… but of course they have fancy offices and […]

Did you know your attorney can appear in most any courtoom in California while sitting at his or her desk? Just about every Court participates in CourtCall (a service connecting attorneys to courtrooms for a nominal fee) or allows attorneys to dial in to the Courthouse directly. Why does this matter to you? Generally speaking […]

Most of us make them, right?  For the new year I will go to the gym every day, not miss a single of my kid’s soccer practices and…, for many people, FINISH MY ESTATE PLAN!  It is amazing how many people tell me that they talk about doing their estate plan every year around New Year’s […]

What does one say for their very first blog?  Many times over the years I have had legal issues arise that I felt others would want to hear about.  I have discussed complex legal issues that I thought other people would want to know about.  I have seen personal, intra-family, situations where people fight over […]