A recent decision involving a deed to an estate planning trust achieved the correct result, but with unnecessary effort. The facts in Luna v. Brownell (June 15, 2010) 2010 DJDAR 8811 were simple. “On August 13, 2006, Al executed a quitclaim deed transferring his interest in the Property as an individual to himself as trustee …
Continue reading “Deed to Estate Planning Trust – Struggling for the Right Result”
A recent case affirms that California does not recognize a claim based on “intentional interference with an inheritance expectancy.” However, the court’s analysis leaves the door open to future litigation arising from different fact patterns. The lawsuit in Munn v. Briggs, 2010 DJDAR 8680 (4th Dist. June 11, 2010) was based on the following claim. …
A recent decision from the Florida court of appeals exalts form over substance to a achieve an unjust decision. Here is the case in a nutshell. Mom set up an irrevocable trust for benefit of one of sons. The trust contained a spendthrift provision, meaning that creditors could not reach trust assets before distribution to …
Continue reading “Florida Court of Appeal Permits Assets to be Hidden in Trust”
The California Supreme Court recently considered when a transfer of ownership occurs in the context of an estate planning trust. The dispute arose in under Proposition 13, which sets the rules for property tax reassessment. According to the court, “When Helfrick died, the residence’s assessed value for tax purposes was $96,638, with total taxes due …
Continue reading “Change of Property Ownership Triggers Big Tax Bill”
In the recent case of Sharabianlou v. Karp, 2010 DJDAR 2039 (Feb. 8, 2010), the court considered the following facts. “Faced with uncertainty about the scope of the contamination and the cost of its cleanup, and unable to agree on who should pay for the remediation, the parties failed to close escrow. After further efforts …
Continue reading “Agent Not Liable for Breach of Fidicuary Duty Without Proof of Damages”
The Fourth District Court of Appeal held in Le vs. Pham, 2010 DJDAR 297 (January 6, 2010) “that where the bylaws of a pharmacy corporation provide that one stockholder must give another a right of first refusal on the sale of any stock, it is a breach of fiduciary duty for the selling stockholder to …
Continue reading “Le vs. Pham – Careless Reasoning in Sale of a Pharmacy”
A second recent opinion reinforces the fundamental rule that an inter-vivos revocable trust is not an entity separate from the trustee. In Presta v. Tepper, 2009 DJDAR 16603 (Nov. 27, 2009), the court provided the following analysis: “Two men enter into a real estate investment partnership, each acting in his capacity of trustee of a …
Continue reading “A Revocable Trust Is Not a Separate Legal Entity – Part 2”
A pair of decisions from last month reinforce the fundamental rule that an inter-vivos revocable trust is not an entity separate from the trustee. The first opinion, 1680 Property Trust v. Newman Trust, 2009 DJDAR 16161 (Nov. 17, 2009) states the rule with elegant simplicity, to wit: “Unlike a corporation, a trust is not a …
Continue reading “A Revocable Trust Is Not a Separate Legal Entity – Part 1”
A decision handed down this month involved an all-too-common situation. In King v. Johnson, 2009 DJDAR 15871 (Nov. 9, 2009), the husband provided for a testamentary trust. After the husband’s death in 1991, his widow became the trustee. The widow later suffered from declining health. One of the daughters was apparently close to her mother. …
A growing body of case law during the past 20 years has addressed the issue of whether and when corporate directors owe fiduciary duties to creditors. A California appellate court has finally weighed in on this issue, and provided clear guidance on the question. (We can only hope that the California Supreme Court will not …
Continue reading “Berg & Berg – California Obligations of Corporate Directors to Creditors”