One of the most long-standing and seemingly “bulletproof” estate planning mechanisms – the direct designation of a beneficiary on an account -- be it a bank account, an IRA, a stock account or the like, is increasingly no longer as ironclad as both practitioners and their clients have long believed. A modern trend in California is gaining momentum in probate courts across the state whereby title rules are increasingly being bent to accommodate a decedent’s testamentary intent.Read more...