On May 26, 2016, the Estate Planning and Probate Section of the Ventura County Bar Association was fortunate to have Judge Glen M. Reiser, presiding probate judge, present a State of the Probate Court address at the Wedgewood Ventura. Firm partner and trust litigator, Yasha Bronshteyn attended Judge Reiser’s presentation as to the current state of the Probate Court and new Probate Appellant Cases were discussed. Judge Reiser is currently assigned to Courtroom J6 at the Juvenile and Probate Courthouse hearing all probate, conservatorship, guardianship estates and environmental cases. The Probate Court is located at 4353 E. Vineyard Avenue Oxnard, California 93036. Judge Reiser was appointed to the Ventura Superior Court bench by Governor Pete Wilson in 1998.
Cases discussed included:
(1) The Carne v. Worthington – filed April 13, 2016, Fourth District, Div. One was an Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Jeffrey S. Bostwick, Judge. This case concerned certain real property located at Via Regla in La Jolla, California. Record title to the Via Regla Property was held by the trustee to the 1985 Trust. The issue here was the decedent’s daughter’s Petition to confirm that certain real property previously owned by Liebler, located on Via Regla, had been properly transferred to the 2009 Trust. The 2009 Trust states, “I transfer to my Trustee the property listed in Schedule A, attached to this agreement,” and lists the Via Regla Property in Schedule A. The 2009 Trust is signed by Liebler as grantor and by defendant and respondent, Nancy Worthington, and Craig Castle as co-trustees. However, Decedent’s grandson claimed the 2009 Trust was not a valid trust because Liebler had not properly transferred title to the only asset allegedly in the 2009 Trust, the Via Regla Property. Specifically, Hasting argued that Liebler had not effectively transferred the Via Regla Property into the 2009 Trust because Liebler had failed to execute a deed transferring the property to the trust.