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The Daily Journal
The Daily Journal is a member of the Newspaper Association of America, California Newspaper Publishers Association, and National Newspaper Association..

Daily Journal
As the nation’s population ages, probate law has never been more important. In this inaugural issue, we present a comprehensive list of law firms with probate practices, highlighting some of their key attorneys.

Daily Journal 2024 PROBATE ATTORNEY DIRECTORY
Law Office of Adams & Rafferty, PC Huntington Beach and Santa Rosa, CA.

Electronic communications do not constitute valid trust amendments
The intersection of technology and law has created both opportunities and challenges for legal professionals. As digital communication becomes ubiquitous, questions inevitably arise about how new technologies fit within long-established legal frameworks.

Probate appeals: litigants beware!
Although appeals from probate court are handled much as appeals of other civil matters, there are substantial differences, some of which present a trap for the unwary.

Intestate succession: beyond first cousins
When the cousin dies, the immediate expectation is that the cousin’s son will become the heir.

Clear, certain, and undisputed: Who holds the estate planners accountable?
An attorney who provides estate planning services (such as drafting revocable living trusts and wills) can be liable not just to the client who engaged him or her, but also to potential beneficiaries

The impact of NCBE dropping wills and trusts from the Next Gen Bar Exam
As widely reported, the National Conference of Bar Examiners (“NCBE”), which develops the Uniform Bar Exam (“UBE”) currently used by 40 states, has dropped wills and trusts as a tested subject matter from the Next Gen Bar Exam scheduled to be rolled out in July 2026.

When surviving trustors try to change irrevocable sub-trusts
Recently, I was approached by a client regarding whether he should pursue a claim against the successor trustee of his parents’ trust. The surviving trustor (his mother) had amended the trust before she died.

Dealing with the burden of an unknown omitted child in estate plans
A disinherited child may challenge an estate plan on various grounds, including that their disinheritance was the result of undue influence by other beneficiaries or an elderly parent’s lack of testamentary capacity to make changes to an established estate plan.

Conservatorships demystified; exploring the State’s conservatorship types and their impact
On Feb. 1, 2008, one of the most famous singers of the late 1990s and 2000s, Britney Spears, became the subject of a conservatorship in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Streamlining probate: expert tips to avoid unnecessary hearings
“Thank you, Counsel, I see there are notes to clear, our next available court date is six months from now.” These words are tough to hear as a probate lawyer but are a common occurrence these days across California.