News

Case Summaries

Family Law

[07/01] Jenkins v. Jenkins
In a petition under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeking the return of Petitioner's son to her custody in Israel, judgment for Respondent is affirmed where Petitioner failed to establish that there was an actual "removal or retention" by Respondent or that the alleged retention was "wrongful."

[06/26] Charisma R. v. Christina S.
In a child custody dispute, trial court orders declaring plaintiff a presumed parent of the child and establishing a schedule for reunification is affirmed where: 1) substantial evidence supports the finding that the Family Code sec. 7611(d) parentage presumption applies, as the record shows that plaintiff actively participated in the child's conception and cared for her following birth, the limited duration of her parenting of the child does not defeat plaintiff's claim to presumed parent status, and plaintiff received the child into her home and openly held her out as her natural child; 2) the trial court did not abuse its discretion in concluding there is no basis to rebut the parentage presumption as substantial evidence supports the finding that the Elisa B. factors are present and that plaintiff actively participated in the child's conception with the understanding she would parent with defendant, and no other facts justified rebuttal of the parentage presumption; and 3) defendant's equal protection claim fails as she has not shown that a case involving a man in plaintiff's circumstances would be decided any differently under the law, and failed to meet her burden of showing that the order declaring plaintiff the second parent was an unconstitutional infringement of her state and federal rights to substantive due process.

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Probate Trusts

[06/08] Cory v. Toscano
Trial court judgment that a proposed petition to determine the terms of the trust did not violate the trust's no contest clause is affirmed where the handwritten notations on the trust instrument were an attempt to amend the trust and were not part of the original trust agreement, and thus a challenge to its validity is not a contest under Probate Code sec. 21305(a)(3).

[06/05] Ditta v. Conte
In a breach of fiduciary duty action involving the removal of a trustee of an an inter vivos trust, court of appeals' judgment holding that the case was time-barred is reversed and remanded where a statutory limitations period is applicable to suits seeking damages for breach of fiduciary duty but no statute of limitations period restricts a court's discretion to remove a trustee.

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