2020 so far has been a crazy year to say the least! But at Hackard Law we’re focused on hope. And music is an amazing way to spread hope! That’s why we’re doing a giveaway for a new Fender Player Stratocaster. The rules for the contest are easy. First step, leave a comment below. What’s your all-time favorite song, or who’s your favorite guitarist? Let us know! Second, you can subscribe to our channel by hitting the red button. And third, you can like this video. The contest ends on Monday, August 24th. We’ll pick the winner using an app that randomly selects someone from the comments. And remember, just leave one comment, since multiple comments get filtered out. Share this link with your friends so they can enter too! Go[...]

Problem solving is often a function of experience. Tough cases test our ability to find the right solution. Dubious trust amendments present unique trials. We litigate many California trust and estate contests. For us, many of these lawsuits are routine. Sometimes the case circumstances are rare – seeming one-offs. More often, I feel like a surgeon removing his 400th appendix. I’ve been down this road before. I know the difference between the usual and the unusual. Trust amendment challenges have some common beginnings. A parent makes a trust that is revocable during their lifetime. The parent is called the settlor. The trust becomes irrevocable at the settlor’s death. There is some type of intervention after the formation[...]

Our elders are the custodians of memory - links to our past. They’re also keepers of family wealth. They’ve been accumulating wealth longer. Aging brings more than wealth accumulation. Almost 40 per cent of people over 65 experience some form of memory loss. It’s part of the normal aging process. Vulnerability comes with age. And elders get targeted. They get manipulated. This is not a small problem. Elder abuse, including exploitation, is experienced by 1 out of 10 people, ages 60 and older, who live at home. Financial abuse might involve home property transfers, bank account manipulations, power of attorney abuse, and changes in wills and trusts. Those abused may not know it or may be too intimidated to report it. Rep[...]

An accused’s right to a speedy trial is one of our most basic Constitutional rights. It starts when a criminal prosecution begins. It serves both the interests of defendants and society alike. There is no constitutional right to a speedy jury trial in civil proceedings. That said, as a former U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice observed: “The right to trial by jury in civil cases at common law is fundamental to our history and jurisprudence. A right so fundamental and sacred to the citizens should be jealously guarded.” COVID-19 shutdowns have forced lawyers and their clients to confront the contradiction between protecting this fundamental right and its loss or severe limitation occasioned by widespread governmental orders. Ord[...]

You’re concerned – frustrated – baffled. Your mom or dad is in failing health. Maybe they’ve been taken in a senior scam. Maybe their bills are piling up. They don’t remember how to pay them. Or they’ve left the stove on hours after cooking. You can fill in the blanks. I saw this with my own mom. My friends have seen it with theirs. But you have not faced this before. You talk with your mom or dad about your concerns. To them everything is fine. You have few people that you can talk to about this. So, you go online. You see they’re lots of lawyers describing themselves as conservatorship attorneys. In California there are licensed fiduciaries. They advertise themselves as compassionate. You want to read the fine pr[...]

It’s a legal maxim that justice delayed is justice denied. This is particularly true for senior plaintiffs. Defendants generally want to slow down litigation. The COVID-19 pandemic provides an even greater opportunity for delay. Access to courts is effectively blocked and justice is denied or at least substantially delayed to those who have been wronged. A functioning civil justice system constrains predatory conduct. Our current system is not fully functioning. And, predatory conduct is not fully constrained. California statutes can, under normal circumstances, provide some protection to seniors. California Code of Civil Procedure Section 36(a) allows a party 70 years or older to seek a civil trial preference. It’s not entirel[...]

Most people will agree that the law must be accessible, intelligible, clear and predictable. We expect this as a society. And, when not met we share an unsettling concern about the present and the future. This is surely a time of unsettling concern. My law firm litigates estate, trust and elder financial abuse cases. We, like most of society, rely upon the rule of law. Rules protect elders and their families from wrongdoing. When violated, rules are applied to effectuate justice and recovery of losses. This is not vigilante justice. This is not self-help. It is a judicial process hundreds of years in the making. The pandemic and its offshoots, some predictable, some not, have created chaos. One example among many: The California[...]

I’m Mike Hackard of Hackard Law. California is my home and has been for all of my life. I went to college and law school here. We’ve raised our family in my hometown of Sacramento. It’s a privilege for me to serve the California community from our office right here in Sacramento County. I have an AV Preeminent Rating granted by Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™. This rating is limited to an elite group of approximately 10 percent of all attorneys. And, I’ve earned this rating for decades. If you have a trust, estate, or financial elder abuse dispute, call us at 916-313-3030 or visit hackardlaw.com. You’ll get the understanding and experience of a local team and the power of a law firm that litigates for clients [...]