Moravec Varga & Mooney

Short Answer A constructive trust in California is an equitable remedy, not a true trust. A court uses it to order a person who wrongfully holds legal title to property to transfer it to the rightful owner. Civil Code Section 2223 and Civil Code Section 2224 supply the basis. The complaining party must prove a specific identifiable property (the "res"), a right to it, and a wrongful acquisition or wrongful detention through fraud, accident, mistake, undue influence, violation

Short Answer A California statutory will is a free, state-authorized standardized will form printed word for word in Probate Code § 6240. You complete the blanks, sign it, and have two witnesses sign in your presence, and you have a valid will under Probate Code § 6242. It works for a simple estate passing outright to a spouse and children. However, it is a rigid template. It cannot create custom clauses, staged inheritance, special needs planning, unequal shares for a blende

Short Answer Schedule K-1 is the tax form a fiduciary issues to report each beneficiary's share of income, deductions, and credits from an estate or trust. Federally, the fiduciary files Form 1041 and issues a federal K-1; in California, the fiduciary files Form 541 and issues a California Schedule K-1 (541). The K-1 does not tax your inherited principal. Instead, it passes through post-death income that the estate or trust distributed, interest income, dividend income, renta

Short Answer A credit shelter trust (CST), also called a bypass trust, uses a deceased spouse’s available estate tax exemption to support a surviving spouse and preserve assets for heirs, generally keeping properly structured trust assets outside the survivor’s taxable estate (Internal Revenue Code § 2010; § 2041). For California couples, the decision should balance inheritance goals, portability, tax consequences, and the restrictions the survivor can accept. Introduction: P

Short Answer A 5 by 5 power is trust language that can give a beneficiary an annual withdrawal right over the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the value of the assets from which the withdrawal may be satisfied. The name comes from federal tax law, not from a separate California “5 by 5 rule.” Under Internal Revenue Code sections 2041(b)(2) and 2514(e), the lapse of a qualifying power during a calendar year is treated as a release only to the extent the lapsed amount exceeds that pr

Short Answer No. California generally does not recognize a nuncupative will, also called an oral will, verbal will, deathbed will, oral testament, verbal testament, or final testament. Under California Probate Code § 6110, a valid will generally must be in writing, signed by the testator or will-maker, and witnessed by at least two qualifying witnesses. California recognizes limited alternatives, including holographic wills and certain statutory rules for electronic wills, bu

Short Answer To transfer California real estate into a living trust, the owner generally signs a new deed transferring title from the grantor to the trustee. The signature must be notarized, and the deed should be recorded in the property’s county, usually with a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report (PCOR). A correct transfer can support probate avoidance, but mortgage, tax, insurance, and title issues require review. Why the Deed Matters More Than the Trust Binder Creating

Short Answer A 401(k) or an IRA cannot be retitled into a trust the way a house or a bank account can. Instead, the account holder updates the beneficiary designation on file with the custodian and names a properly drafted trust, usually a see-through trust, as the recipient. Done correctly, this step keeps tax-deferred growth intact, satisfies IRS required minimum distribution rules, and routes retirement assets through the trust document instead of through intestate success

A directed trust separates selected trust powers from the trustee and gives them to a designated trust director. In California, this structure can allow one person or professional to manage investments, distributions, or another defined function while the trustee handles the remaining trust administration duties. California’s Uniform Directed Trust Act, found in Probate Code sections 16600–16632, governs many of these arrangements. Short Answer A directed trust is a trust in

Short Answer A California disclaimer trust is an estate planning arrangement that lets a surviving spouse decide, after the deceased spouse’s death, whether to disclaim all or part of an inheritance. If the surviving spouse makes a timely and legally effective disclaimer, the disclaimed assets can pass into a bypass trust or optional bypass trust under the trust document rather than becoming part of the surviving spouse’s own estate. This can preserve financial flexibility, s

Short Answer: Yes, California law generally allows you to disinherit an adult child, sibling, parent, prior spouse, or other family member. However, a valid disinheritance requires more than leaving a name out of a will or trust. Your estate plan should use express language, properly address omitted spouse and omitted child rules, account for community property rights, and coordinate non-probate assets such as life insurance and retirement accounts. A surviving spouse cannot

Short Answer A bank account beneficiary and a will beneficiary are not necessarily the same, and they do not receive property under the same legal process. When a bank account has a payable-on-death (POD) designation, the bank generally follows its account agreement and pays the money to the named beneficiary after receiving the required paperwork, often including a certified death certificate and identification. The funds usually transfer outside probate. By contrast, a will

Short Answer In California, a purely electronic will, such as a document signed only with a digital signature or electronic signature on an online platform, is generally not a substitute for a properly executed traditional Last Will and Testament. California estate planning law still centers on a written, physical document signed by the Testator and properly witnessed, unless the document qualifies as a handwritten holographic will. Therefore, digital wills may be useful for

Short Answer If you cannot afford hourly attorney fees or a large retainer, a contingency fee may make it possible to pursue a California probate litigation or trust litigation claim. Under a contingency fee arrangement, attorney’s fees are generally paid from a successful recovery rather than paid in advance. However, not every case qualifies, and clients may still be responsible for litigation costs. When an Inheritance Is Being Withheld An inheritance should not disappear

Short Answer When a California trustee refuses to distribute trust assets without a valid administrative or legal reason, a beneficiary may demand information and a trust accounting, send a demand letter, and file a petition in probate court to compel trustee compliance, distribution, removal, or damages. California law requires a trustee to follow the terms of the trust, act in the beneficiaries’ interests, preserve the trust property, and keep eligible beneficiaries reasona