California Estate Planning Lawyer Blog

For parents, writing a will and designating a legal guardian for their child or children is one way to ensure that their children will be taken care of in the event that they become orphans.

Usually, when one parent dies the surviving parent assumes full custody of any children. If both parents die, however, or if the surviving parent is unable to be legally responsible for the children, a guardian will have to legally assume the role.

A guardian will be legally accountable for taking care of a child’s physical and emotional well-being until the child turns 18. This includes providing for the child’s education, shelter, food, clothing, and health care. This is a huge responsibility, so it is important to make sure that the person appointed wants to and is able to handle the responsibility. A person appointed in a will to be a child’s guardian is not legally obligated to take on the role. That is why it is a good idea to appoint an alternate guardian. Co-guardians may also be appointed to share the responsibility of guardianship.

If parents do not name a guardian, a probate court judge will have to appoint one for their children, and the parents would have had no say in the matter:

A probate guardian usually has a number of responsibilities- depending on the kind of guardianship they hold:

Continue reading "If Parents Die Without A Will, A Probate Court Will Appoint Guardian For Underage Children" »

A probate judge has rejected a last-minute motion to dismiss the Rosa Parks will contest case. The civil rights icon’s 13 nieces and nephews are contesting her 1998 will. They claim that Elaine Steele, her caregiver and longtime companion, unduly influenced Parks when she was making her will.

Rosa Parks passed away on October 2005. She left nearly all of her assets to Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self-Development, a nonprofit organization that she founded in 1987 with Steele. The organization inspires young people to pursue an education. Steele, an institute officer, was granted power of attorney for Parks, the same year that Parks signed her will.

According to Parks’ nieces and nephews, they believe that Steele got Parks (who was suffering from dementia) to sign the will, which basically left them powerless to decide how their aunt’s likeness would be used. They were also cut off from receiving any profits earned from the licensing of her likeness and name. Her nieces and nephews say that placing their aunt’s image in the wrong hands could ruin her legacy. According to their attorneys, Steele has been unwilling to answer any questions about the estate or account for the institute’s activities.

While Parks’ estate is not necessary worth millions, the marketing rights to her image and likeness could be worth millions of dollars over the next several decades. Since she passed away, her likeness has already been used in Apple Computer and Chevrolet advertisements. Jury selection is scheduled to begin tomorrow.

Continue reading "Battle Contesting Rosa Parks’ Will To Continue In Probate Court" »

Darcy R. MacLachlan, a man who enjoyed listening to the Berkeley Springs High School Band in West Virginia, has left the musical group $116,000. According to Glen R. Stotler, the executor of MacLachlan’s estate, half of his estate was designated for the band, while the other half is to be placed in a trust for the American Legion No. 60, located in Berkeley Springs, to be used for youth programs.

MacLachlan grew up listening to the band practicing in a field located across from his house.

Beneficiaries:
A beneficiary is the individual or organization who a decedent leaves property to in his or her will. Anyone can be a beneficiary, except for the person who makes the will, any person who may have been responsible for the death of the deceased person, and any unincorporated group that is not able to receive or hold property. In some jurisdictions, anyone who acts as a witness to the will being signed becomes disqualified to be a beneficiary.

A person or organization that is a beneficiary may receive specific property items, such as money, houses, or jewelry, from the decedent’s estate. Someone may also be designated to receive anything that remains from an estate after the executor distributes the estate’s gifts to its beneficiaries and pays off the estates expenses and debts.

Continue reading "Man Who Loved Listening To High School Band Leaves $116,000 Endowment From His Estate" »

Tomi Rae Hynie, James Brown’s partner when he died, says she is the surviving spouse of the deceased singer and therefore legally entitled to a percentage of his estate. She also wants to be allowed to reenter his mansion on Beech Island, South Carolina, that she was barred from entering after his death so she can get back her personal possession, as well as the possessions of James Brown, Jr., her son with Brown. Hynie filed her petition in Aiken County probate court.

Although Hynie claims she was legally married to Brown, attorneys for Brown’s estate say that her marriage to Brown was not legally binding because she was married to someone else at the time of their wedding ceremony. Although she ended that marriage, she and Brown never remarried to legally formalize their commitment. Hynie and James Brown, Jr. were not named as beneficiaries in Brown’s will, which divides the Godfather of Soul’s personal possessions among his six older children.

Hynie is contesting the will, claiming that it is not valid because she was not included as a beneficiary. She is also contesting the validity of a trust set up by Brown, which holds the soul singer’s primary assets, such as his 60-acre home in South Carolina and his music rights.

James Brown passed away last year on Christmas Day in Atlanta, Georgia. His family is undecided as to where to bury him, and his body is in a gold casket at a private location.

In a separate petition, James Brown’s six older children would like a probate court to replace the trustees of Brown’s trust. They are accusing the trustees of mismanaging their father’s assets.

Continue reading "Woman Who Claims To Be James Brown’s Wife Is Contesting Will And Suing For Half Of His Estate" »

The lawyer for Tomi Rae Hynie, the woman who says she is James Brown’s fourth wife, says she will contest the deceased singer's will and go to court to prove that she was legally married to him when he died, thereby entitled to half his estate under probate laws. Hynie also wants her five-year-old son with Brown, James Brown Jr. to inherit his 1/7th of her 50 percent. The young boy was left out of his father’s will, which Brown signed 10 months before his youngest son was born.

According to Brown’s attorneys, Hynie married Brown, but their marriage was not legal because she was still married to someone else at that time. Hynie annulled her previous marriage, but Brown’s attorneys say the two were never legally married.

James Brown’s coffin remains at his Beech Island home until family members can decide where to bury him. Most of the deceased singers assets are in an irrevocable trust that is separate from his will. Hynie and their son are not named as beneficiaries of his trust either. The trust leaves money to fund the education of his grandchildren and to help needy children. The Irrevocable Trust Agreement of James Brown was established in 2006.

An irrevocable trust cannot be changed or modified by the grantor. By setting up this type of trust, the grantor removes him or her from having rights over any assets placed in this trust. Only a trust’s beneficiary can authorize any changes that can be made to an irrevocable trust.

Continue reading "Woman Who Claims She Is James Brown’s Fourth Wife To Contest Will" »

Singer James Brown’s will does not name his partner, Tomi Rae Hynie, and their five- year-old son as two of the benefactors. The will was made in 2000, more than one year before his marriage to Hynie and ten months before the birth of their son.

According to Brown’s probate lawyer, the will was signed by the singer in August 2000 in Aiken, South Carolina. Brown’s attorneys say that Hynie is not legally the deceased singer’s widow because she was still married to another man when she married Brown.

Although Hynie eventually annulled that other marriage, she and Brown never renewed their marriage vows after this. Hynie, however, says that she was legally married to Brown. According to an attorney for Brown, the singer tried to have his marriage to Hynie annulled in 2004, but he decided not to go forward with the process.

The will, read last week, says that Brown’s personal effects are to be equally divided among his six adult children. Since the other children are named as benefactors in the will, Brown’s attorney says that his five-year-old son is not allowed to contest the will. James Brown died on December 25, 2006.

Updating Wills

If you are someone who has chosen to make a will, it is important that you update your will regularly to make sure that it is current. Nolo.com provides a list of when you might want to consider updating your will:

Continue reading "James Brown’s Will Was Written Before Birth Of Son " »

The boyfriend of a woman who was killed by a former neighbor last year was arrested for allegedly forging his girlfriend’s signature on a bogus will in an attempt to inherit her entire estate.

According to prosecutors, Ed Blomfield is accused of forging his late girlfriend Beverly Graham’s will. Blomfield and her parents began fighting over her state almost immediately after her death because they couldn’t believe that she would leave her entire estate ($750,000 worth in possessions, money, and a condo) to Blomfield.

Graham had been murdered in her condo last January by former neighbor Jennifer San-Marco, who then went to her former workplace, Goleta Postal Distribution Center, where she shot and killed six other people before shooting herself.

Detectives say that evidence found in Graham’s apartment incriminates Blomfield in the forgery. A forensic document expert also confirms that the will was forged. Blomfield, his sister, and a friend are each being held on $500,000 bail in Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of burglary, forgery, financial elder abuse, and conspiracy.

The Superior Court of California in the County of Santa Clara provides the following information regarding when a will can be contested and by whom:

Continue reading "Man In California Arrested For Forging Signature Of Murdered Girlfriend On Bogus Will" »

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 " »

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" »