Trust in California

[Boomcannons]

Hello, Is there any law or policy in California that conflicts with a trust that disinherits a child born out of wedlock? My father passed away recently and was receiving funds from his fathers trust my grandfather. My grandfather added an addendum in 1994 to his trust before he passed stating a child born out of wedlock would not receive funds from the trust. I am my dads only child and wondering if there have been any California laws or rulings that have passed since 1994 that would allow me access to the trust. Thank you

 

[Dandy Don]

If you have access to the original trust document or to a copy of the trust, please mention/quote what the addendum says.

The part about being "a child born out of wedlock" seems to be ambiguous, and it's not clear if the grandfather's intent was referring to any of the grandfather's children or to his children's children.

Did your father leave a will or did your father have a trust?

 

[HRZ]

Some states have softened old laws about leaving children born out of wedlock outside of right to inherit from parent ...but that may not fit your situation as to grandfathers rights to direct his trust ...and requires more details , and you best start with the trust docuement itself. And you may need to address where the trust is domociled ( often DE ) as well . You probably need skilled counsel to help navigate .

 

[Taxing Matters]

And you may need to address where the trust is domociled ( often DE ) as well .

I do not see that is it common to domicile trust in Delaware for persons not residing in that state. Indeed, if I were to domicile a trust in a state other than the state where the trust creator resided for a client it would not be Delaware. What makes you think that trusts are "often" domiciled in that state?

 

[Boomcannons]

@Dandy Don the addendum states (when referring to decendents or heirs), “This does not include a stepchild or or a foster child or any person who would be deemed and “equitable adoptee” under California law or a child born out of wedlock, unless such child’s parents subsequently solemnized their marital union.”

My grandfather was referring to his children’s children. The intent was to not include me because my parents weren’t / never married.

My father did not leave a will or trust. Or any paperwork that we could find regarding what he wanted to do with this portion of the trust if he passed. However he did have me down as his prime beneficiary for other accounts.

 

[HRZ]

THe language as written is pretty darn clear , un less the parents got married or child was adopted by the parent participating in the trust..the child is not in the line. And at least so far there is nothing to indicate that Dad had any rights to modify the terms of the trust absent changing your status by properly adopting you which apparently he did not do .

 

[Boomcannons]

Thank you for your help.

 

[Dandy Don]

When quoting the addendum, you inadvertently left out the sentence or few sentences that occurred just before that. Please mention those sentences as well so we can get better understanding of the context.