Issue: I recently received the following question from a Caller: I am a beneficiary of a “Bypass Trust,” which was set up after my Father’s death and had been managed for the benefit of my Mother during her remaining lifetime. My Mother just died. I have been told that my share of the property remaining […]

Issue: Married couples who reside in California have the opportunity to accumulate community property, separate property, quasi-community property, or some combination of the three. Sometimes a married person may wish to convert his or her separate property to the community property of the married couple or even to the separate property of the other spouse. […]

In this post, I define community property, which is a term that, I have found, is not always clearly understood by those who use it. First, community property can be either real property (farm land, raw land, land improved with buildings, a condominium, a townhouse, a single family dwelling, etc.) or personal property (bank accounts, […]