Proposition 19, a California ballot measure, modifies Proposition 13 (which limits increases of real property tax to two percent per year unless reassessed due to sale or transfer) and Proposition 58 (which allows property owners to transfer their primary residence to their children at the preferential property tax assessment and up to $1 million of assessed value of other real property, with a later proposition extending the benefit to qualifying grandchildren).

Suppose you are hired by a trustee or executor to assist in trust or estate administration. Then a beneficiary calls you, wanting information about what the trustee or executor is up to.

This poses a dilemma. How much information are beneficiaries entitled to? The issue rests on the chassis of attorney-client confidentiality. Where attorneys have a relationship with fiduciaries; and the fiduciaries, in their turn, owe a duty to beneficiaries; how far does the attorney-client privilege extend?

Some jurisdictions have adopted a doctrine known as the “fiduciary exception” to the attorney-client privilege. This holds that beneficiaries have the right to disclosure of legal advice as it relates to fiduciaries’ conduct in administering their fiduciary duties.

1. Acknowledge and reward your staff. Our legal staff makes us look good. Employees help us stay organized, remember important deadlines, and carry a larger load than we would like to admit. As the year ends, it is always a great idea to acknowledge your employees by giving them a bonus or gift. They will certainly appreciate the acknowledgement of their hard work, particularly in a year like 2020 where many have been juggling increased responsibilities at home.