David Leslie Crockett

I have been a very satisfied client of David Crockett, who has represented me in numerous business and personal cases, besides being one of the most capable and efficient CPA who handles all my income tax returns since 1991. David is a very honest person and always provides me sound advice, and treat...s me with respect.

Mr. Crockett recently helped my family out in a huge trust and real estate lawsuit mess. My wife and her two brothers inherited equal thirds of a large property that had two homes on one lot as a result of their mothers’ passing in 2002. The Orange County home was put into a trust a few years later b...y way of Trust documents that were drafted by the eldest brother’s business attorney – who apparently had no estate law training. The eldest brother and his new wife were living in the family home since the mother’s death in 2002 and had the most to gain. My wife and her younger brother both have homes of their own, and would have preferred to sell the home in 2002 but did not as an attempt to be compassionate to their older brother. My wife and I live nearby the property and the middle brother lives out of state. In 2013 the eldest brother (who was living on the inherited family property) died unexpectedly leaving his new wife and her adult children and their wives all living on the property. There were 5 adults living there and running a family construction business from the property that had extensive parking for their business vehicles and significant storage spaces for their construction supplies. This unusual property made it unnecessary to lease shop space as would any other similar business. They were not maintaining the property and it was falling into severe disrepair. They wanted to continue to live there essentially rent free going forward though they were all but strangers to the surviving beneficiaries. My wife and her surviving brother absolutely wanted to now sell the their inherited home and approached the now-deceased older brother’s widow. She had a good thing going and did not want to move. She claimed she was now part owner and she felt entitled to that property. The Trust documents that the deceased brother’s business attorney had drafted were a joke! A law professor’s first year students would break out in hilarity it was so bad. It was as if the Trust documents were ordered off a random Internet Legal documents website for $19.95. The trust document didn’t even state who the trust beneficiaries were and left out other basic stuff. Finally, after much pressure, the widow reluctantly agreed to listing the home with a Realtor and signed the listing agreement. The home received offers. One was accepted and the property went into escrow. The clock was now running. The widow, her adult kids and their wives now had a date certain and would have to move by the time escrow would close. The widow was due a 1/3 of the sales proceeds, so she’d eventually have a down payment to purchase a home or money for whatever. One third would be a significant pile of cash. I will continue