There was a problem adding this course to your account. Please try again in a few minutes. If the problem persists, you can contact our support department at (877) 880-1335.
Adding Registration, Please wait...
You must be logged in to perform this action.
Log in
Cancel
Extrinsic Fraud: Will the Real Slim Fraudster Please Stand Up?
California Trusts and Estates Quarterly - Volume 28, Issue 3
Notwithstanding Mr. Marshall’s passionate calls for transparency, determining who the real “slim shady” is in a court of law can be challenging. That challenge becomes exceptionally important in probate cases, because the legislature has determined that orders for probate become final in a very short period of time. It is a reality that is ripe for mischief. After all, probate orders can forever include or exclude family members and decide the fate of millions of dollars in property and assets.
Understandably then, both the Probate Code and common law have ameliorated the otherwise harsh result of finality by recognizing the equitable powers of courts to set aside final orders of probate on the basis of extrinsic fraud. The concept is a simple one—if a court determines that fraud external to the proceedings themselves has been practiced, it may elect to void an otherwise final order, restoring justice.
In practice, though, it can be difficult to ferret out “the real Slim Shady.” Is it the Administrator that failed to comply with a formality? Or is it a duplicitous beneficiary seeking to introduce disruption into the process in an effort to extract some undeserved assets? Courts must ultimately determine when an order of probate is truly final, when it remains open to attack, and when it might be entirely void. It is a process fraught with pitfalls. As explained here, the answer will commonly turn on a court’s fact determination of which participant has played the part of wrongdoer – in other words, who is “the real Slim Shady?”
While there can be many attacks on an otherwise final judgment, we focus on one of the more common ones – a claimed challenge to notice.
1 Self-Study Credit
Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought
(Self Study Articles) Can I Drive Home After Happy Hour? Have Booze and Cannabis Changed Things?
(Self Study Articles) Promoting Inclusion and Diversity in the Intellectual Property Bar and Beyond
(Self Study Articles) Ethics of Social Media for Lawyers: Where Stunting for the Gram Meets Losing Your Bar Card
(Self Study Articles) Tips of the Trade: Brace Yourself: Why in Re Brace May Prove 202’s Most Significant Non-Probate, Non-Trust Case for California Probate and Estate Planning Practitioners
(Self Study Articles) Life Settlements—The Hidden Tool to Unlock, Preserve and Rescue Value in the Estate Plan
(Self Study Articles) Courts Do Not Agree on the History and Meaning of California Probate Code Section 15402
(Self Study Articles) LPS, General, And Limited Conservatorships: Where We Were, Where We Are and Where We Might Be Going
(Self Study Articles) What Do I Need To Know About The Corporate Transparency Act?
(Self Study Articles) Until Death Do Us Part: Part II: Areas Of Divergence Between Marital Property Division At Death And Divorce
(Self Study Articles) 2022 Legislation: New Laws That Trust and Estate Practitioners Should Know
(Self Study Articles) Is All Fair in Pop Art and Celebrity Photography (Part II)? In Which the Justices Turn to Economics to Level the Playing Field for Human Creatives
(Self Study Articles) The Rise of The Revocable Trust In California