Trustees are critical to trust administration – and under California Probate Code 15681, are entitled to reasonable compensation for their efforts. However, these fees aren’t always paid out on an hourly basis. Depending on the type of trustee you’ve hired, and the pay arrangements specified in the trust itself, California trustee fees will differ. 
Gain an understanding of how…

As a beneficiary to a trust, often the trust is managed by someone else: a trustee. This could be a third party, a family member, or even a professional.  For each type of trustee, there is still a risk of improper management.  By understanding your rights and a trustee’s duties in California, you can protect yourself from self-dealing, mismanagement, and…

Changes in life may also require changes to trusts. For example, when couples marry or divorce, they may wish to change their distributions so that their spouse or ex-spouse is or is not a beneficiary.  Making changes to a trust so that a court can enforce such modifications requires that the proper legal process is followed.  
 
Changes to Trusts:…

Has your trustee neglected their accounting duties, or simply refuses to carry them out? If so, don’t panic – there’s a set legal process for retrieving accounting for your trust, as well as if your trustee has improperly taken what isn’t theirs. 
Trust accounting in California can pose serious consequences for trustees who refuse their duties, with the potential for…

There are a number of disappointing scenarios which require a trust litigation attorney: Maybe your trustee has been lazy in administering the trust; the trust might be ambiguous or have certain errors; ownership of property may not be clear; assets (i.e. cars, homes, jewelry) may be outside of the trust; or the decedent’s estate isn’t being executed as they wished…

The probate court process can be tricky to understand, especially without the guidance of an experienced probate attorney. One of the most confusing factors is the difference between probate and non-probate property, and how both types of assets are distributed upon passing. Learn more about the differences between these two forms of probate property, and be sure to contact Gokal…

New changes to gift and estate taxes are going into effect in 2022, boosting the official estate and gift tax exemption to $12.06 million per person for deaths throughout the year. This is up from the $11.7 million tax exemption in 2021. As for gift taxes, the annual exclusion amount has increased from $15,000 in 2021 to $16,000 as…