Rescuing a Misallocated Inheritance: Correcting an Estate Attorney's Costly Mistake ![Roseville Sacramento Estate Planning Lawyer Goralka]()
By, John M. Goralka
Sacramento, CA
Client's father passed away. He had remarried. Client's father's estate included two real properties. Client and father’s wife (not his mother) were each to receive 50% interest in both properties. To avoid co-ownership, their estate attorney was to give one property to the step mother/wife and one property to the son. Instead, the estate attorney provided for one house to step mom and 50% of second property to step mom and only 50% of second property to son. Step mom discovered the error first and moved to sell the house. Their estate attorney refused to help because the son signed consents to all actions and there was a formal court order.
We filed with the court and obtained a lis pendens to block sale before closing. We tracked former probate documents to evidence a formal contract to transfer the entire home to the client despite formal court order to the contrary. At this point, the attorney admitted the mistake and we forced him to get a corrected court order transferring the entire property to the client. Both homes were valuable residential homes in the Lake Tahoe area.
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Sacramento Estate Planning, Tax Planning and Business Attorney.
I’m John Goralka, a Sacramento Estate Planning, Tax Planning and Business Attorney at the Goralka Law Firm, P.C. If you have an estate, tax or business situation needing legal help, contact our team for experienced and friendly advice. You can contact us at 916-440-8036. Alternatively, you can use our convenient online contact form here on our website. We listen, and you can have your questions answered, your case evaluated, and explore your options for getting the legal help you need.
There are almost 200,000 attorneys in the state of California, and fewer than 100 of those attorneys are State Bar Specialists in Estate Planning, Trusts and Probate and State Bar Specialists in Taxation. I am one of the few attorneys with both critical specializations. I passed the California CPA examination and am a former income tax auditor and hearing officer. I am also recognized as a top attorney in the United States by US News and World Reports and by Best Lawyers and hold an AV rating from Martindale which is the premiere rating organization for attorneys. The AV rating is the highest possible rating for legal experience and for legal ethics.
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