Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in California

If a married couple with only community property (nothing separate) have an estate trust, how can either spouse also have a will in addition to the trust without its contents being known by the other spouse? Conceivably, the gifts in the separate wills combined could exceed the value of the entire trust or both spouses could unknowingly gift the same asset to different people. The claim is that each spouse went in to make their wills without the knowledge of its contents or their respective wishes known to the other spouse. How is this possible logistically?


Asked on 1/02/11, 10:00 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
George Shers Law Offices of Georges H. Shers

It is not suprising that a couple might make separate Wills keeping the terms secret. The Trust directions will govern what happens to the property put into the Trust. The Wills will determine what happens to the 1/2 of the community property each spouse owns. The results are the same whether they know of the terms of the other spouse's Will or not.

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Answered on 1/07/11, 10:15 pm


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