Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California
Handwritten addendum to trust
My grandfather passed leaving everythin in a trust to be divided 5 equal ways. However, in his pocket were the keys to his car valued at 14,000.00. There was a note attached dated one year earlier '' I give the car right away to (name)because she needs a good car to get to school. All else is equal'' Is the note valid, and is the car considered seperate from the trust?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Handwritten addendum to trust
An addendum to a trust must be signed and notarized, and specifically state that it is an addendum to the trust.
The next question is, was the car in the trust? It must be assigned to the trust or the title changed by some document for it to be a part of the trust.
Depending on who gets greedy, it could be a simple matter to have the car turned over to her, but you never know in these cases.