Lawline.com

Even if a person creates a will to distribute her assets upon death, unforeseen circumstances may still cause them to be unclaimed and a state’s intestacy laws control how they are distributed among the decedent’s heirs. In this program, California attorneys Jonathan Greenspan and Eric Yamamoto provide an introductory course on California’s intestacy laws. Mr. Greenspan and Mr. Yamamoto begin with a discussion of the common situations where assets remain to be distributed (e.g., no will, ineffective will) - causing the intestacy laws to kick in. They then review California’s statutory scheme for asset distribution as well as the treatment of community and separate property owned between spouses. Finally, the presenters delineate how adopted and foster children are treated under the intestacy laws.  This CLE concludes by going over survivorship issues and establishing an heir’s right to asset distribution. This is a helpful program for new California estate law practitioners and all California attorneys looking for a refresher on the state's intestacy laws.

Agenda:
I.     What is Intestacy and Probate?
II.    Assets Often Not Included in an Estate 
III.   California’s Statutory Scheme for Asset Distribution
IV.    Community Property and Separate Property Distribution
V.     Children and Intestacy
VI.    Establishing an Heir’s Right to Distribution