Susan Kathryn Ashabraner’s Answers

The only one you should trust for legal advice is a competent attorney.

1. Identify the county in which debtor's bank account is located. 2. Obtain one writ of execution for each county. 3. For each BANK, send to that county's sheriff's department the following documents: (1) original writ of execution for that county plus 3 copies; (2) instructions to levy all bank accounts located AT THAT ONE BANK, and (3) a $30-35 levy fee (i.e., you'll have to pay a fee FOR EACH BANK). The sheriff's department website will explain which sheriff's department branch to use and...

I offer my condolences for your loss. You can obtain copies of court records from the court in which the probate matter was filed. The court clerk will charge you a fee for the copies. If your daughter lived in Ontario, CA, her probate matter was probably filed in the San Bernardino County probate court. http://www.sb-court.org/Divisions/Probate/Probate.aspx To preserve your inheritance rights, I suggest you consult with a probate attorney who practices law in the county in which the...

Wills must be witnessed, but not notarized. See California Probate Code sections 6110, et seq. http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=prob&group=06001-07000&file=6110-6113

The timing is critical here. You're responsible for paying HOA dues for so long as your name was on the title to the property. Some banks will delay taking title for this reason. However, the dues you owed up to the date you filed your BK petition were probably discharged in BK (depends what type of BK you filed). You owe post-petition dues for long as your name was on title to the property. I suggest you speak with your BK attorney regarding your rights and responsibilities for the...

Shortly before the garnishment commenced, your employer should have given you a copy of an Earnings Withholding Order ("EWO") along with Employee Instructions. Paragraph 4 of the EWO shows the total amount to be sent to the plaintiff. Since the court-issued writ of execution authorized that amount, you may wish to request a copy of the writ from the sheriff's office, or from the court. Ask the sheriff to send you a copy of its detailed accounting of amounts received from you and sent to...

The type of form depends upon the type of property. I agree you should consult with an estate planning attorney especially if the property has significant value. If so, you may wish to avoid paying a gift tax. If you are gifting real property, then s/he also will advise you how to maintain its Prop 13 assessment value.

If your mother adds her son-in-law (your sister's husband) as a joint tenant to any or all of her property, then he will own a one-half undivided interest in that jointly titled property now (which his creditors can levy to satisfy any judgment they have against him), and he will own 100% interest in that jointly titled property when your mother passes away, regardless what her will or trust says. As other counsel have suggested, please consult with an estate planning attorney to ensure your...

I agree with attorney Hansen: the answer depends more upon the *complexity* of your family (e.g., a blended "Brady Bunch" type family), the occupations of the parents (e.g., husband owns a small business), and the size, nature and titling of your estate than the mere *size* of your family. Although I always recommend each person execute a will, at minimum, there are some estate planning techniques that can be implemented. For example, property held in joint tenancy will automatically...

I agree with Mr. Chen and Ms. Clark Kleinpeter. It's important that you file a counter memorandum. Plaintiff has filed its memorandum because it doesn't want to appear at a case management conference, and more importantly, it doesn't want you to conduct discovery -- a diabolical strategy (perhaps because plaintiff doesn't have the documents it needs to prove its case)! File the counter memorandum stating the case is NOT ready for trial because discovery has not been completed. Then propound...