Older California residents can sometimes fall victim to elder financial abuse. Sadly, this type of fraud is often perpetrated by someone known by and close to the victim. What is elder financial abuse? Elder financial abuse is a crime that occurs when someone takes...
A person who is appointed to be the executor of an estate is given unlimited access to another person's assets. These assets include funds that are needed to administer an estate in California. The executor is a chosen individual who is put in a high position of...
Not everyone can contest a will for any reason. There must be valid, legal grounds for this document to be challenged in court. The following reasons are why a will is often contested in California. No signature There are different types of will contests during estate...
Amy Gostanian Esq., attorney and founder of Gostanian Law Group, PC, has received her third consecutive Super Lawyers designation for the 2022 calendar year. Prior to those initial honors, she was awarded Super Lawyer Rising Star – Trust and Litigation in 2014 and...
When someone dies in California, their will is read and executed according to their wishes. However, there are times when people feel that the will wasn't properly executed or that it doesn't represent the deceased's intent. If you feel like you were unfairly treated...
If you are the trustee of an estate plan, you may have a lot of questions. Some of these questions may revolve around things like what your options are or whether or not you need to use the same law firm that the estate was first created at. While there can be lots of...
An executor is a fiduciary, meaning they have a legal duty to act in the best interests of the estate. When an executor fails to perform their duties or makes decisions that harm the estate, beneficiaries may have grounds to sue. Who is an executor? Executors are the...
Older California residents should be aware of financial elder abuse by fiduciaries. Recognizing the signs is important. What is a fiduciary? For these purposes, a fiduciary is a trusted person who manages a person’s affairs when they are unable to do so themselves....
Fiduciary duty is the term in California that describes the obligation that particular trusted parties have to their beneficiaries. For example, the person or institution that oversees and runs a trust has a fiduciary duty to do what is best for the beneficiary of the...
In California, one type of elder abuse that sometimes occurs is financial exploitation. In some cases, older adults are exploited by conservators who have been appointed by courts to protect their wards but instead take advantage of them. It is important for family...