Betchart

BACKGROUND

The Subject Property Wally and her late husband Ludwig founded a demolition and equipment rental company in the 1960’s. They moved operations to a property they purchased at 42270 Osgood Road in Fremont, California (Property), and incorporated the business as Ludwig Betchart, Inc. (LBI). Over the years, three of the Betcharts’s six children worked at LBI. Tony began working for LBI while he was still in high school. In 1992, Wally and Ludwig executed a revocable trust that transferred the Property to the trust. The trust provided that the Property would be distributed in equal shares to Tony and one of his brothers if they were still “active” in LBI. In May 2003, Wally and Ludwig amended the trust. The May 2003 amendment provided that the Property would be distributed equally among the six Betchart children, and the owner of LBI would have the right to rent the Property at a reasonable rate “as long as he wishes.” According to Wally, she gave Ludwig copies of the changes but wished she had spoken to him “at more length about it.” According to Tony, Ludwig was not aware of the change in distribution of the Property. Ludwig died in July 2003. Wally executed several other…