Beneficiary v. Beneficiary
Jan 01, 2008OUTCOME: Client prevailed
My client was raised by a man and his mother, neither of whom legally adopted him. The the supposed "grandmother" died, leaving him a one-half interest in her home. He continued to live in the home f ... or over 10 years. At this point another trust beneficiary -- a cousin -- opened a probate to have the house distributed to her, without informing her attorney or the court that there was a trust. Subsequently, the cousin was suspended as the Probate Administrator, but only after borrowing $80,000 against the house and filing an eviction against the client. We filed papers in 2 courts; one asking the trust be recognized and the other asking the court to find the whole house belonged to my client via a legal procedure known as "adverse possession". During this matter my client was hospitalized and then went into a coma. Based on the wishes he had told me, I prepared a California Statutory Will for him and left it at the hospital just in case he woke up. He came out of his coma for 3 hours, during which he signed his Will and had it witnessed. He went back into his coma until he died a month later. After he died we were successful in having the whole house pass to his estate. In probate, his house passed to his girlfriend, pursuant to the terms of his Will. She still lives in the house.
