New CA Probate Case

To do the best job possible as a mediator, arbitrator and referee, I keep up with and summarize the new published California civil cases. In this blog I discuss a new civil case that was published last month.

Probate

In probate actions a common issue facing the courts is whether an amendment to a revocable trust was valid. Last month, the First District Court of Appeal published a new decision addressing whether an amendment to a revocable trust was valid when it was not acknowledged by a notary public. In the video above I briefly discuss this new case. Below is my summary of this new case.

New Probate Decision 

Balistreri v. Balistreri (2022) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2022 WL 557745: The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court's order denying a petition to confirm the amendment of a revocable trust. Petitioner alleged that the day before her husband, Sal C. Balistreri (decedent) died, the two amended their revocable trust. The trust mandated that any amendment "shall be made by written instrument signed, with signature acknowledged by a notary public." The trial court properly concluded the claimed amendment was invalid under Probate Code section 154021 because the amendment was not acknowledged by a notary public. (C.A. 1st, February 24, 2022.)

Mediation, Arbitration and Referee Services

I help attorneys and their clients by serving as a mediator, arbitrator and referee with ADR Services, Inc. I handle cases in the areas of business, commercial, employment, insurance bad faith, insurance coverage, land use, landlord-tenant (commercial and residential), legal malpractice, medical malpractice, personal injury, real property and wrongful death. I also keep up with the new civil case law published in California. I offer Zoom services throughout California and also in-person services. I've been a California civil trial lawyer since 1980 and a member of ABOTA since 1995. I've represented both plaintiffs and defendants in a wide variety of civil cases including the areas listed above. If you'd like to work with me, please contact my case manager at ADR services, Haward Cho, [email protected], (619) 233-1323.  

California Case Summaries™

California courts are constantly publishing new civil case decisions. Last year in 2021, the California Supreme Court published 22 new civil or family law decisions and the Court of Appeal published 483 new civil or family law decisions, for a total of 505 new civil or family law cases!

While you don't need to read new case decisions outside of your civil practice area, it's clear that there are lots of new case decisions each year that you need to know about to keep current in your practice areas.  

I keep up with the new case law, and I help California lawyers easily keep up with the new case law by publishing California Case Summaries™ with short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of the new published civil or family law decisions. I publish monthly, quarterly, and annual publications, giving you several options for mastering the new case law. 

Here are the subscription options:

California Case Summaries Monthly™:  short summaries (one paragraph), organized by legal topic, of every new civil and family law case published each month by California courts for only $50 per attorney per month. To subscribe, click here.

California Case Summaries Quarterly™: short, organized summaries of every new civil and family law case published each quarter, with the official case citations, for only $200 per attorney per quarter. To subscribe, click here.

California Case Summaries Annual 2021™:  short, organized summaries of every new civil and family law case published in 2021 for only $900 per attorney per year. To subscribe, click here.

Annual Practice Area Case Summaries 2021. In January 2022 we published our Annual Practice Area case summaries for the practice area of Employment, Family Law, Real Property and  
Torts. They cost only $350 per year per attorney. To subscribe select the area below:
-Employment: to subscribe, click here.
-Family Law: to subscribe, click here.
-Real Property: to subscribe, click here.
-Torts: to subscribe, click here.

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Lawyers (whether new or experienced) can rapidly create their dream law practices with the help of a master mentor who can help them think deeply, focus on what is essential, avoid distractions, develop their skills, avoid mistakes, answer their questions, and continuously improve their organization and systems. I offer an online video course and individual sessions to provide this much needed master mentoring to attorneys. For my lawyer master mentoring services visit my website at https://montymcintyre-law.com, email me at [email protected], or call me at (619) 990-4312.

Until my next blog post, stay safe and healthy.

Best regards,
Monty A. McIntyre, Esq.
Mediator, Arbitrator & Referee
Lawyer Master Mentoring™
California Case Summaries™
CA Civil Trial Attorney Since 1980
ABOTA Member Since 1995
Past President San Diego County Bar Assn., SD ABOTA Chapter
Phone: (619) 990-4312. Email: [email protected]