California Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

When the will of Mildred Erle Veatch, 95, was read after she passed away last summer, there were 10 beneficiaries named to receive assets from her $824,766 estate.

Among these beneficiaries were:

· Judge Windle, the probate judge who oversaw her case, was to receive $50,000.
· Duane Coker, the court-appointed attorney representing Veatch, was to also receive $50,000.
· Beverly McCure, Veatch’s court-appointed guardian and the ex-wife of Judge Windle, who was to receive $100,000.
· Roy Anderson, court-appointed guardian of Veatch’s estate and Windle’s personal accountant, who was to receive $50,000.

Judge Windle has said he did not know he was included in Erle Veatch’s will and, he will not accept the money.

Continue reading "While Under Court Appointed-Guardianship, Elderly Woman Revised Will And Leaves Money To Probate Judge, Probate Guardian, And Court-Appointed Attorney" »

The executors of the Estate of Joshua Goldberg are now offering $2 million reward for any information leading to the arrest of any person(s) involved in his death. Goldberg, a 23-year-old American, died suddenly at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand last February. Foul play is suspected, and Royal Thai Police are investigating his death, which occurred in room 703 of the hospital. The hospital has refused to provide more information regarding the circumstances surrounding his death.

There have reportedly been inconsistencies in information given by the hospital to Goldberg’s family regarding the time and cause of death. Significantly, the hospital reported to World Access, the third party administrator for Blue Cross of California, that Joshua had died on the morning of 24 February 2006. However, their email correspondence was time stamped at 10.53 PM on the evening of 23 February 2006, Bangkok time. In other words, they reported the death several hours before they say it occurred. Goldberg was initiated posthumously as a Buddhist monk after his death.

It is up to the executor of a deceased person to settle all a person's affairs following that person’s death. According to Bankrate.com, responsibilities can include:

· Performing an inventory of the deceased's assets. This involves locating and making a record of everything the person owned, including investments.

Continue reading "Executors of Joshua Goldberg’s Estate Increase Reward To $2 Million For Information Leading To The Arrest Of People Involved In His Death" »

A former high school business teacher who was born in 1882, retired from teaching in 1952, and died in 1968, has left $710K to his beloved high school in New York. William H. Higbie’s wishes were carried out through his wife Cecile's 1990 will (she died in 1991). Her will set up a provision establishing a charitable remainder trust. A portion of this trust was endowed to Huntington High School and will be open to high school seniors who wish to become business teachers. It turns out that Higbie, who never made more than $5800 a year from teaching, was a very smart investor. By the end, his estate had amassed several million dollars.

The bequest came with strict terms and conditions, including:

* “The principal of the said Fund shall be held and managed by the School District in perpetuity, to be invested and reinvested in any kind of property, real and personal, without limitation to investments authorized for trust funds and without diversification as to kind or amount.

Continue reading "Through Their Charitable Remainder Trust, A Former Teacher And His Wife Endow High School A $710K Scholarship Fund " »

A mentally challenged Chico resident who went missing on November 6, right after he attended a court-ordered conservatorship hearing regarding his mental issues was found at a home in Orland, California on November 14.

Mark McDonald, 49, had walked away from a medical transport van on the drive back to Eureka. Orland police say they don’t know where McDonald spent time during his disappearance. He was given a good physical condition report by the Enloe Medical Center last Tuesday. Although not considered violent, McDonald lives in a lockdown Facility in Eureka.

Under California Law, the courts can appoint a conservator to oversee the care and finances of any adult who has become mentally or physically incapable of making personal or financial decision.

There are two types of conservatorships. There is the conservator of the person and the conservator of the estate. The person who is appointed as conservator can fulfill both roles.

Continue reading "Mentally Challenged Man Placed Under Court-Ordered Conservatorship Is Found In Chico, California After Missing For Eight Days " »

A new survey released by the California Healthcare Foundation on Wednesday says that 70% of Californians do not put their end-of-life wishes in writing. The survey is part of the Foundation’s efforts to improve end-of-life care in the state.

According to Mark Smith, president and CEO of the CHCF, “California has been a leader in end-of-life issues, including living wills, hospice care, pain management, and physician education for the past 30 years.”

Among the survey results:
· Eighty-three percent of those surveyed said “having their end-of-life wishes in writing is very or somewhat important.” However, only 36 percent actually said they had their wishes in writing in the form of an advance directive or living will.

· Only about half of those surveyed (51 percent) have talked with their loved-ones about such end-of-life issues as whether they would want to be kept alive on life support. Moreover, nearly a quarter (22 percent) of these conversations were just casual conversations or remarks made in passing.

Continue reading "California Healthcare Foundation Says Most Californians Don’t Plan For End-Of-Life Care" »

Last month, U.S. President George Bush reauthorized and amended the Older Americans Act. The act is designed to benefit the lives of elderly Americans and could impact the care of the elderly under elder law, as well as their estate planning-related affairs.

The Act's provisions for the elderly include:

· Home-delivered meals.

· Family caregiver support.

· Elder rights protection.

· Congregate meals.

· Grants to senior centers.

· Enhanced Federal, State, and Local coordination of long-term care services provided in home and community-based settings.

Continue reading "For Elderly Americans, U.S. President Bush Signs Older Americans Act of 2006" »

At a meeting with the Board of Supervisors last month, Public Guardian Dan Bruce reported that his clients that are 65 years of age or older are in need of more social services and adult protective services.

AB1363 is the Omnibus Conservatorship Law that was signed recently by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The law creates new mandates for public guardians, such as:

· A 48-hour response time for new referrals.
· Obligating the public guardian to take on certain cases that would have previously been accepted or rejected at the public guardian’s discretion.
· Requiring all public guardians to be certified through the public guardian’s association.

Bruce says that more funding is necessary to implement these new initiatives.

The Role of the Public Guardian:
A public guardian is responsible for conducting a county's investigation into conservatorship matters. If appointed, the public guardian acts as conservator for those found by the Superior Court to be unable to properly care for themselves or their finances.

Continue reading "In California, Public Guardian Dan Bruce Says Aging Population Need More Adult Protective Services And Social Services" »

Kaiser Permanent officials say they knew that the names of dead patients had been left on a nationwide kidney donor list by their San Francisco transplant program. Officials are blaming a data-processing backlog for the error. The nationwide list determines which patient is eligible to receive the next kidney that is available for transplant and is maintained by the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Earlier this year, Kaiser announced that it was closing the San Francisco facility, which it had opened in 2004. In addition to keeping the names of the deceased patients on the recipient list, the facility is accused of delaying critical operations and losing track of patients. The San Francisco program was shut down last May, and 2300 transplant patients are in the process of being transferred to other hospitals.

California is asking Kaiser Permanente to pay $3 million to Donate Life California and $2 million to the California Department of Managed Health Care.

Organ donation is an estate planning matter. Each day, about 74 people receive organ transplants. However, 19 people die each day waiting for transplants that can’t take place because of the shortage of donated organs.

Continue reading "In California, Kaiser Permanente Says They Knew Dead Patients Names Were On Kidney Donor List " »

A woman whose business is to find heirs to unclaimed property or money has reunited a brother and sister after nearly half a century. Margaret Galasso had been looking for the heirs of Wilbur Robinson, Jr.’s Estate. The estate had nearly $65,000 in unclaimed money.

Mallory, an 81-year-old retired nurse and Richard Robinson, a 73-year-old former sheet-metal worker, had both thought the other was dead. In addition, their brother Wilbur had been advised by a Beverly Hills Attorney to declare both Richard and another brother legally dead so that the transfer on the deed of the family’s Lake Charles House could be transferred to Wilbur, his sister Elneda, and their brother Joseph.

The attorney, who became the trustee and executor of Wilbur’s estate was disbarred in 2000 for several incidents of misconduct. Also, Mallory Robinson and Galasso believe that the attorney might have taken up to $200,000 in property and money from Wilbur’s estate.

While reviewing Wilbur's estate, Galasso noticed that there was no evidence that either brother Walter was actually dead, and although she found Richard, she still does not know whether his brother Walter is really deceased.

When choosing the executor of your estate, it is important that you select someone whom you trust completely and who has the time to see to your affairs.

Continue reading "Years After Executor Of One Man’s Estate Convinces Him To Declare His Brother Legally Dead, Woman Who Tracks Down Heirs To Unclaimed Estates Finds This Brother Alive At Age 73" »

In California, philanthropist Joan Palevsky, has left $200 million to the California Community Foundation—a charity that supports a number of social and civic causes. This gift is the largest bequest ever given to a U.S. charity, and the gift will increase the charity’s assets to over $1 billion.

Palevsky died at the age of 80 in March. Throughout her life, she donated funds to a number of causes, such as the Rape Foundation, TreePeople, and Amnesty International. In her will, she left a number of bequests to different charities and gifted money to friends and family. She also left $4.7 million to her alma mater UCLA for endowed professorships and other purposes.

One of the reasons that Palevsky was be able to bequest so many gifts via her will is because she grew her wealth (through investments) after her 1968 divorce from Scientific Data Systems cofounder Max Palevsky.

Continue reading "California Community Foundation Receives $200 Million From Los Angeles Philanthropist" »

A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge in Arizona has awarded the ashes of Kirby Puckett to his children, Catherine, 16, and Kirby, Jr. 14. Meanwhile, Puckett friend and associate Brian Woods was removed as the executor of the baseball star’s estate.

The judge ruled that Woods had not been reasonable in considering the children’s “clear wishes and emotional needs and desires” by refusing to allow them to keep Puckett’s cremains at their home. Puckett did not leave explicit instructions about what to do with his ashes. California-based Sun Valley Group, Inc. will take over as executor.

Puckett’s fiancé, Jodi Olson, who had been living with the baseball star at the time of his death, expressed disappointment at not being able to receive a portion of the ashes. Olson is not a beneficiary in Puckett’s will, which was drafted 3 years ago. Woods had unsuccessfully tried, by power of attorney, to get $1 million transferred to Olson by power of attorney before Puckett’s death.

Puckett died on March 6 at the age of 46 from a massive stroke. His children are the primary beneficiaries of his estate believed to be worth at least $9 million.

An executor of an estate is the person named in a will of a person who has died to now handle their financial affairs.

Continue reading "California-based Sun Valley Group, Inc. Is Named Executor of Minneapolis Twins star Kirby Puckett’s Estate" »