Last-minute change in a will is not fraudulent transfer

The testator’s ex-daughter-in-law sued her ex-husband and his sister, alleging that their mother changed her will shortly before her death at her daughter’s insistence to give to her daughter the share of the estate given to her son in a prior will so that he could avoid paying arrears of child and spousal support and that the daughter promised to make sure that her brother ultimately received the funds. 

The court affirmed dismissal of the complaint on the grounds that the mother’s changing her will could not be a fraudulent transfer because the son had no right to his mother’s estate.  However, the court also held that the ex-wife could amend her pleadings to allege a constructive trust based on the daughter’s alleged promise to convey the property to her brother.  Cabral v. Soares, 69 Cal. Rptr. 3d 242 (Cal. Ct. App. 2007).