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Case Summaries

Family Law

[05/12] In re Marriage of Holtemann
In a dispute about the legal effect of a spousal property transmutation agreement executed during marriage, judgment finding the underlying agreement effectuated a transmutation of husband's separate property into community property is affirmed where: 1) the unambiguous language in the parties' agreement evinced that the husband intended to, and did transmute his separate property; 2) nothing in the record suggested that the husband was misinformed or misled in light of the requisite express, unequivocal declarations of transmutations; and 3) his arguments for disparate treatment of his express declarations of transmutation based on his lack of separate counsel were unavailing, as he was fully advised of the consequences of failing to secure separate counsel, yet chose to proceed.

[05/09] Baran v. Beaty
In a case involving a mother who removed her minor son from Australia, denial of father's petition for return of the minor pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act of 1988 is affirmed where: 1) based on evidence of the father's propensity for violence, the district court did not err in concluding that returning the minor to Australia would expose him to a grave risk of psychological harm; and 2) because the court was not presented with any proposed undertakings that could ameliorate the risk of harm to the child under the circumstances presented, the court did not abuse its discretion in denying the petition for return.

[05/06] In re Domestic Partnership of Ellis and Arriaga
Under the California Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003 and consistent with the rationale in Koebke v. Bernardo Heights Country Club, 36 Cal.4th 824 (2005), a person's reasonable, good faith belief that his or her domestic partnership was validly registered with the California Secretary of State entitles that person to the rights and responsibilities of a registered domestic partner, even if the registration never took place.

[05/01] In re Lesly G.
Denial of a petition for modification, as well as a juvenile court order terminating parental rights under Welf. and Inst. Code section 366.26, are reversed and remanded where the juvenile court failed to hold the required hearing on petitioner's section 388 petition for modification before proceeding to a section 366.26 hearing.

[04/29] In the Matter of M. S v. E. S.
In a proceeding wherein wife sought an upward modification of maintenance and child support in a written separation agreement, judgment that the parties were bound by the terms of the separation agreement is affirmed where the Family Court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to entertain the spouse's application for increased spousal maintenance.

[04/25] State of California Dep't of Soc. Servs. v. Leavitt
In a case involving whether the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) complied with an order requiring it to provide for the review of all foster care cases open on or after March 3, 2003, for benefits eligibility under a prior case's construction of a statute determining eligibility for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children-Foster Care program, denial of motions to enforce the judgment is reversed in part insofar as the court failed to address a request to authorize discovery regarding the agencies' compliance. Grant of agencies' motion for relief from judgment as of the date of the implementation of the Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) is affirmed where the district court did not abuse its discretion by allowing the agencies to implement the DRA as Congress intended.

[04/23] State Dep't of Soc. Serv. v. Superior Court (D.P.)
The juvenile court has the authority to order a dependent child returned to the home of designated prospective adoptive parents when, after a hearing held to determine whether the removal of a child from the home of prospective adoptive parents is in the minors' best interest, the court is of the opinion that an emergency removal occurring some three months earlier was in the minors' best interests but events which occurred since the removal justify returning the minors to the designated prospective adoptive parents' home. Furthermore, section 361.4 of Welf. & Inst. Code does not limit the juvenile court's discretion to order a minor returned to prospective adoptive parents after a hearing held pursuant to section 366.26(n).

[04/22] Edwards v. Edwards
In a child support case considering the applicability of the statutory support guideline to a competent adult child who has moved away to college, the court of appeals concludes that where neither parent retains "primary physical responsibility" under Family Code section 4055 subdivision (b)(1)(D) of an adult child for any percentage of time, the guideline formula, by its terms, is inapplicable.

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Probate Trusts

[05/13] Montegani v. Johnson
In a dispute over a decedent's estate involving revocable and irrevocable trusts, an order denying plaintiff's Probate Code section 21320 application based on her lack of standing for section 21320 relief is affirmed where, as part of its duty to oversee the administration of the estate and insure orderly administration of justice, the trial court properly concluded that plaintiff was no longer a beneficiary of the trusts at issue, and thus lacked standing to seek declaratory relief under section 21320.

[05/06] Estate of Herold
An order denying petitioner's safe harbor petition, which sought a declaration that his proposed "Petition for Information" would not amount to a will contest, is reversed and remanded where the trial court erred in finding that a no contest clause of the will was incorporated by reference into a trust.

[05/06] Estate of Coll-Monge v. Inner Peace Movement
In an action for trademark infringement and related claims, summary judgment for defendants-non-profits is reversed in part and remanded where: 1) the district court erred in holding that a non-profit corporation cannot be a related company whose use of the trademark is controlled by the mark's registrant; and 2) there remain disputed issues of fact regarding both the doctrine's applicability in this case, and the capacity in which testator registered the marks with the USPTO.

[03/31] Akira Akazawa v. Link New Tech. Int'l, Inc.
In a patent dispute, summary judgment for defendant based on lack of standing is vacated where issues of Japanese intestacy law must be resolved by the district court in order to determine whether plaintiff owned the patent at issue, and therefore possessed standing to bring the present suit.

[03/27] Estate of McDaniel
In an intestacy situation where a husband deceased before the effective date of a stipulated judgment dissolving the marital partnership, the trial court properly found that the wife was not entitled to an intestate share as a "surviving spouse" within the meaning of section 78 of the Probate Code because she was by the time of decedent's death "a party to a valid proceeding concluded by an order purporting to terminate all marital rights" within the meaning of 78(d).

[03/27] Estate of Claeyssens
In a case involving estate or inheritance tax, an order denying an executrix's petition to refund fees imposed pursuant to Government Code sections 26827 and 68087 is reversed as: 1) to the extent that these statutes authorize the fee, they were enacted in violation of the state constitution and are of no force or effect; and 2) Proposition 6 (Rev. and Tax. Code section 13301), coupled with article II section 10 of California Constitution provide that the Legislature alone may not impose an estate or inheritance tax.

[03/13] In the Matter of the Accounting by Fleet Bank
Relying on strong policy considerations that applied in Matter of Best, 66 N.Y.2d 151 (1985), the Court of Appeals finds that a child adopted out of a family by strangers does not share in the proceeds of class gifts to the biological parent's issue created by 1926 and 1963 irrevocable trusts.

[03/03] Ranger v. Ranger
In a complaint for construction requesting the court construe various parts of the subject trust agreement, granting of summary judgment in favor of defendant regarding the disposition of the deceased's business is reversed and the matter remanded where summary judgment for defendant was inappropriate as the directive containing the disposition would not take effect until after the surviving trustor's death.

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