Firm partner and litigator, Yasha Bronshteyn presented a lecture at the South Bay Bar Association on May 9, 2019. The topic at the Probate Section Luncheon was “Post-Death Trust and Will Contests.”
A major point of discussion was the case known as Barefoot v. Jennings, 2018 WL 4292450. This case was widely criticized by Probate and Trust litigators when announced in the fall of 2018. Attempts to have Barefoot republished were not successful and instead the California Supreme Court will review the case.
In summary the case concerns Appellant, Joan Mauri Barefoot, who is one of six children of Joan Lee Maynord. Maynord and her former husband, who died in 1993, established the Maynord 1986 Family Trust and Maynord served as the sole trustor following her husband’s death. Starting in August 2013 and continuing through 2016, Maynord executed eight amendments to and restatements of the Family Trust, referred to as the 17th through the 24th Amendments, with the 24th Amendment being the final amendment prior to Maynord’s death. It is in these amendments and restatements in which Appellant’s share of the Family Trust, described in the 16th Amendment, was eliminated and Appellant was both expressly disinherited and removed as successor trustee.