California Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

In California, San Francisco University’s School of Nursing was gifted $296,000 from the estate of William Tobias Jr. and his wife Jacquelyn Hawkins Tobias. This is the largest individual gift in the school’s history and the money will be used to create an endowed scholarship fund for graduate and undergraduate nursing students with an interest in cardiovascular nursing or oncology.

While William and Jacquelyn did not have a previous relationship with the University, both were aware of the shortage of nurses. Jacquelyn had died from cancer complications in 2003, and William experienced cardiovascular problems before also dying from cancer in 2005. He was treated by many nurses in the months before he passed away, and he heard of how some of them would like to earn an advanced degree but couldn’t afford the tuition. The bulk of the gift was therefore given to the hospitals where the couple were treated—San Francisco University and UC-San Francisco.

The late Mr. And Mrs. Tobias lived in San Bruno.

Planned Giving
Planned giving is an estate planning tool, and an estate planning attorney can help you draw up the necessary paperwork.

Continue reading "San Francisco University’s School Of Nursing Receives $296,000 From Couple’s Estate" »

The relatives and close friends of Carmel Bosco contested her living trust after she died at the age of 97 and left all her assets (a $448,000 estate) to James Foley and his girlfriend, Anna Erman. Bosco apparently changed the terms of her living trust three days before her death, removing the names of these relatives and friends as beneficiaries and replacing them with Foley and Erman instead. Foley and Erman had taken care of Bosco after she was diagnosed with lung cancer.

Friends and relatives who had been named as beneficiaries in the initial trust claimed that Foley and Erman “unduly influenced the older women and as “care custodians” under California law, they are subject to a higher scrutiny in terms of being able to inherit anything. Foley and Erman said that they were not care custodians but were close, old friends of Bosco who decided to take care of her. They argued that non-paid, helping friends are not paid caregivers and should not be disqualified from inheriting from a trust. Foley and Erman gave no reason for why they took Bosco to an estate planning attorney to change the terms of her trust just three days before she died.

A trial court ruled in the couple’s favor, but an appeals court reversed the decisio. The California Supreme Court agreed with the appeals court.

Under California probate code 21350, a number of categories of people are not allowed to inherit from someone’s will:

Continue reading "Relatives And Friends of California Woman Contest Living Trust And Win" »

Exiled Prince Jefri Bolkiah, the brother of the sultan of Brunei, is accusing the couple that he gave power of attorney over his affairs of stealing from him. The prince filed a lawsuit against British attorney Thomas Derbyshire and his wife Faith Zaman, saying that they used his fortune to buy two California beach homes, $33,000 of furniture, $30,000 of jewelry, and $2,800 of electronic appliances. The prince says his losses are as high as $23 million. He also claims that the couple also persuaded him to sell his $25-million, 23-room Long Island mansion for $12 million.

The prince had hired Derbyshire, an expert in fraud and money laundering, to represent him amidst allegations that he embezzled $3 billion from Brunei. He gave the couple power of attorney. In his complaint filed in a New York Court, the Prince claims that the couple then proceeded to engage in “numerous acts of theft and deception, self-dealing, embezzlement and fraud, all designed to benefit themselves and their family members, to the severe detriment of their clients and employers. The words ‘faithless servants’ do not do justice to the scope of their perfidy.”

Zaman, who was named managing director of the Prince’s Palace Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, is said to have moved into the hotel's $10,000 a night suite while hiring her brother, Arzi Zamarni to be “operations manager”—a role accompanied by a very generous salary.
In the Prince’s court documents, Zaman is accused of using a corporate credit card to misappropriate $750,000, while Derbyshire is accused of spending $280,000 on his card. Zaman also allegedly payed a company that she created a $5 million check that had been made out to one of the Prince’s companies. An order of $4.1 million worth of plasma TV’s and equipment was paid for by the Prince but never arrived—even though there had been an additional delivery charge of $230,000. Derbyshire and Zaman are denying the accusations.

Power of Attorney
A power of attorney gives a person the authority to make legal decisions, including financial and property decisions, on behalf of the Principal—the person who gave them that power. A power of attorney is usually given to someone when the principal cannot be present to sign documents or has become too ill to do so.

Continue reading "Couple With Power Of Attorney Stole From Him, Says Prince of Brunei" »

A former Angeleno has left $442,173.77 to the residents of Los Angeles. The bequest, from Theodore DiFiora, who died in 1990 at the age of 79, was accepted by the Los Angeles City Council last week.

The bequest was left to the city in DiFiore’s handwritten will, which was originally written in 1976 and updated several times afterwards. He left each of his five siblings just $1. One of DiFiore’s sisters had tried to fight the bequest, but failed.

In DiFiore’s will, he said: "And I wish to give the rest of my real and personal property after the payments of my debts and expenses by my executor to the city of Los Angeles."

The money came from DiFiore’s assets, which were primarily an auto repair shop and an old gas station in San Jose, California. The site took years to clean up and sell—which is why the city is receiving the bequest only now—16 years after DiFiore’s death. No one is sure why he chose to give the money to the city of Los Angeles, although he was living in downtown Los Angeles when he passed away. In his will, DiFiore did not indicate any purpose that he would like the city to use the money for. The mayor and the city council will decide how to spend the money. His gift is one of the largest bequests given to the city in recent years.

Continue reading "Man Who Owned San Jose Gas Station Leaves Los Angeles Residents 400K Bequest" »

Reality star and model Anna Nicole Smith appeared at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for a mediation hearing to continue the legal dispute over her dead husband’s will.
While Smith was not included in Marshall’s will, she has argued that he intended to take care of her through a special trust. Smith had initially won a $474 million judgment. This was then cut to $89 million and later to 0 before the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Last may, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that only a California court should deal with the case, even though a Texas state court had ruled that Marshall’s youngest son was his only heir. Smith is also currently involved in a legal dispute with her ex-boyfriend Larry Birkhead over the paternity of her daughter Dannielynn Hope Marshall Stern who was born in September.

Contesting a will is a type of litigation that challenges the document’s validity. A will contest takes place when someone produces another will or files an objection to a will. Not just anyone can contest a will. A person must have proper standing to contest a will. For example, a spouse who wasn’t named in a will can contents the will. So can a child who was cut out of their parent's will because they were in the middle of a dispute with that parent at the time the will was written.

Often, the persons who will change a will’s validity are the beneficiaries or heirs who have received nothing or very little.

Continue reading "In San Francisco Federal Courthouse, Anna Nicole Smith Continues Legal Battle Over Husband J. Howard Marshall III’s Estate " »

Pet owners can now guarantee that their animal loved ones will always be cared for. The UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine now offers a program, known as Tender Loving Care (TLC), that arranges pet adoptions, pet care monitoring, and a lifetime of veterinary services, including regular checkups and more intensive care. There is a $1,000 enrollment fee and a contribution of $30,000 for the lifetime care of one’s pet, including placement in a good home. The contribution for horses is $50,000.

Studies show that more than half of pet owners think of pets as members of the family, and up to 27% of individuals, when planning their estates, take their pets into consideration. Creating a pet trust, where a person entrusts a family member, organization, or friend to take care of the pet, and also leaves money in the animal’s name for the pet’s care, is becoming more common. Pets can even be left in the care of a few non-profit groups through bequests. Many people are also including their pets in their wills.

Estateplanningforpets.org says there are a number of steps a person may want to take when planning for the lifetime care of their pets, including:

1)Selecting a Caretaker
· Communicate your expectations and any special needs of the pet to the potential caretaker.
· Introduce the potential caretaker to you pet and allow them to spend a reasonable amount of time together.
· Decide and discuss with the potential caretaker whether or not, and to what extent, there will be reimbursement of expenses or other compensation.
· Ask whether the potential caretaker would like to serve.
· Take the necessary steps to make your pet and any necessary information or documents accessible to the caretaker.

Continue reading "UC Davis Veterinarian School Offers Estate Planning Option For Pets " »

Dawn and Norm Blinder, the parents of 7-Year-Old Debbie Blinder, recently recounted how—several years ago—they decided to donate their daughter’s organs after she was fatally injured in a car wreck. The decision saved the life of a 7-Year-Old California boy who received a heart transplant. Two women are also still alive today because they received Blinder’s kidneys.

Unless a person who wishes to donate their organs has explicitly stated their wishes or is a registered potential organ donor, it may end up being up to his or her family to make this decision for them. Also, a person who wishes to donate organs but has not given their consent may not have their wishes honored if their family is not aware of their decision. Organ donation is an estate planning matter.

Important Information for Families to Know about Organ Donation:
· Next to the potential organ donor, it is up to the family to make the final decision. They can make the request to have the organs donated and also refuse to donate them. The hospital must honor their wishes.

· Families do not have to pay any fees to have their loved one’s organs removed.

· Families are also not paid any fees for the organs.

Continue reading "Because of Parents' Decision To Donate Organs Of Their Fatally Injured 7-Year-Old Daughter, A 7-Year Old Boy Gets A Heart" »

The living will case, in which a doctor, Jr. Jaimy Bensimon and a nursing home facility are being sued by the family who say that workers at Joseph L. Morse Geriatric Center in Palm Beach ignored their mother’s DNR request—resulting in her lengthy death process—ended in a mistrial when the mother of the doctor being sued died suddenly.

The woman who wrote the living will, Madeline Neumann, was 92-years-old when she died in 1995. In her living will, she requested that she not be resuscitated if there was no chance that she would recover. The attorney for Neumann’s children claims that if a nurse had written DNR on the elderly woman’s medical chart, paramedics would not have attempted to revive her. She died six days later at Columbia Hospital. The trial will likely resume in 2007. Bensimon is the medical director of the Palm Beach facility.

In California, a living will is also known as an Advance Health Care Directive. The living will allows you state whether or not you wish to refuse or accept life-sustaining treatment should you ever become incapacitated. You can use the will to inform doctors and loved ones about any health care treatment you would like in the event that you become unable to express your wishes when the time comes. You can also appoint someone, who will be known as your health care agent, to make sure that your wishes are carried out.

Your living will should be witnessed by at least two people, and some states require that you have your living will notarized. It is a good idea to give copies of your living will to your medical providers, loved ones, and health care agent.

Continue reading "Living Will Case Leads To Mistrial: Cause Is Death" »

A pastor who was head of a nondenominational Christian church in Hickman, California is being accused of murdering a farmer after being given control of the man’s trust. Being placed in charged of someone's trust is considered an fidicuary responsibility and therefore an estate planning matter.

Pastor Howard Douglas Porter is being charged with murder and embezzlement, after Frank Craig, 85, was crippled and then killed in two car accidents. Porter was driving the car both times.

Craig had a 4-million dollar trust fund that he placed Porter in charge of. The farmer believed that the pastor could help him build an agricultural center. Craig’s family has accused Porter of making friends with the farmer so that he could take control of Craig’s trust. Family members also believe that Craig persuaded Porter to remove his two sisters as beneficiaries and replacing them with Craig's church.

Investigators believe that Porter first tried to kill Craig in 2002, Porter he struck an oak tree after driving his truck off the road. Craig was crippled in this first accident.

Continue reading "Pastor Named As Trustee Of Farmer’s Multi-million Dollar Trust Fund Is Accused Of Murder In California" »

Kathlyn Kerr, one of the Mary Kay’s granddaughters, is suing her uncle Richard Rogers and Bank of America for breach of fiduciary duty while managing two of her grandmother’s trusts. She is also asking she be replaced as trustees. The trusts had been set up by Mary Kay for her only daughter Marylyn and her five children. Kerr wants a disinterested corporate trustee to replace Bank of America and Rogers. (Trusts, trustees, and fidicuciary duties are all estate-planning issues and often need the involvement of an estate planning attorney.)

She claims that her uncle engaged in self-dealing, imprudent management, failure to diversify the trust’s assets, and other misdeeds. Both Bank of America and Rogers have denied any wrongdoing. Rogers, Mary Kay’s son, had co-founded Mary Kay Inc. with his mother in 1963.

Kerr and her family live off some $350,000 a year that they receive from these trusts. According to her lawsuit, however, the total values of her shares from three trusts should exceed $100 million. The third trust, a testamentary trust also set up by Mary Kay, has assets that have not been distributed to its beneficiaries.

A Trustee’s Responsibilities to a trust include:
· Holding the trust property.
· Investing the assets.
· Distributing the trust’s income and/or principal to beneficiaries.
· Making tax decisions concerning the trust.
· Keeping records of all trust transactions.

Continue reading "Grandaughter of Mary Kay Seeks To Have Trustees Removed From Cosmetic Mogul’s Trusts" »

On November 14, five people each received a kidney in what’s being called the first quintuple transplant surgery ever. 12 surgeons, 11 anesthesiologists, and 18 nurses took part in the transplant surgeries that took place in 6 operating rooms at the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center. Although, truth be told, Nearly 100 medical professionals were instrumental in making this complex series of transplants possible, including immunogeneticists, operating room nurses, nephrologists, transfusion medicine physicians, critical care doctors, nurse coordinators, technicians, social workers, psychologists, pharmacists, financial coordinators, and administrative support people.

Individually, the transplants wouldn't have worked. Four of the transplant candidates had willing donors who were not compatible matches. But by pulling off a five-way swap, five people gave their kidneys to 5 strangers, each pair a match. One of the donors was an altruistic donor—someone who offered to give her kidney away to anyone who needed it. Honore Rothstein, 48, says she was inspired to donate a kidney following the deaths of her daughter and husband.

The fifth recipient was pulled from the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) organ recipient list. According to a Johns Hopkins official, 6,000 people on the national deceased donor list have a willing, but incompatible donor. The five recipients and five donors are all reportedly doing fine following their surgeries.

Organ donations are an estate planning matter. According to organdonor.gov, here are some frequently asked questions and answers about organ donations:

Continue reading "At Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Transplant Center, Five Organ Donors Help Pull Off The First “Domino Donor” Quintuple Transplant Surgery " »