San Mateo California Estate Planning Law Blog

While couples usually wait until the end of holiday season in January to file for divorce, allowing families spend the festive season together, new laws have pushed couples to hurry to file for divorce before the end of 2018. California residents might be aware that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act change the way payments between ex-partners are taxed.

According to experts, there has been a four-fold increase in their workloads, and courts are staying open longer to accommodate the traffic of couples trying to finalize their divorce so they can take advantage of the previous tax rules. Under the old law, alimony was taxed in such a way that the higher earning spouse, usually the one paying alimony, can deduct alimony from their income while the one receiving alimony, typically the lesser earning spouse, pays tax on that sum. Under the new law, the tax burden will fall on the person writing the check.

When it comes to a dispute regarding a loved one's estate plan, is estate litigation the inevitable result? Not necessarily. It is possible to address disputes regarding a loved one's estate plan through forms of alternative dispute resolution, including mediation. Mediation can be a way for families in California to put their differences aside and work together to come to a resolution that meets everyone's needs.

Mediation can be preferable to estate litigation, because it allows all parties, including the elder person whose estate is the subject of the dispute if he or she is still alive, to communicate their concerns and preferences. It is a way to preserve relationships and encourage healthy communication. Mediators may also connect parties to community resources that could help them.

Home is where the heart is, which is why it is often a major sticking point when it comes to property division in a divorce. Spouses in California may both want to keep the family home post-divorce, or perhaps neither wants it. What is important is that spouses understand all their legal options when it comes to dividing the marital home in a divorce, so they can make informed decisions that are in their best interests.

One option is to award the family home to the party that wants to keep it and award the other party marital assets of a similar combined value. However, the party who wants to keep the home should think carefully about whether they can afford to do so. After all, repairs will need to be made, the mortgage needs to be paid and insurance costs and taxes must also be considered. Since the person awarded the home will have to pay all these expenses on a single income, some people may find that they simply cannot afford to keep the family home.

A person in California can carefully execute a comprehensive estate plan, with the hopes of making it clear what their wishes are with regards to who will inherit what, as well as what end-of-life care they desire. Yet, no matter how detailed their estate plan is, once they pass on, there is always the potential for litigation. Grief aside, sometimes, an heir has a legitimate reason to contest a will or trust.

For example, they may believe the deceased was subject to fraud or undue influence when he or she executed the will or trust. This may be especially true if the person's mental or physical health was declining, making them dependent on the care of others who may have taken advantage of their vulnerability. It could be argued that the deceased lacked the testamentary capacity to create a will or trust. Even suspected forgery could be a reason to contest a will or trust.