Will Contests, Trust Disputes and Fiduciary Litigation

When disagreements arise in matters related to estates, the emotions of those involved can flare, causing the dispute to grow heated. That makes it imperative that your attorney remains level-headed and focused, searching for practical responses rather than inflaming an already volatile situation.

Through our decades of work in this field, we have established our firm as one determined to find creative solutions in challenging circumstances while avoiding unnecessary gamesmanship and courtroom sideshows. Over time, we have developed a reputation of integrity and composure we have found local judges value and respect. We can be counted upon to navigate the law with dexterity and to keep our sights set on its proper application to the maximum benefit of our clients.

By their nature, those matters addressed through fiduciary litigation are detail-intensive, fact-driven, and yet governed by an unforgiving playbook. We set to work spotlighting traps laid for the unwary. We employ a variety of strategies to identify a satisfying resolution without resort to trial, but our experienced team is prepared when the circumstances call for judicial intervention as well.

We represent trustees, guardians, conservators, beneficiaries, agents pursuant to Power of Attorney instruments, corporate officers, executors, administrators, banks, trust companies, and charities in both pursuing and defending against claims, or in asserting the client’s position as an interested party in an estate or trust dispute. . We aim to enable our clients to honor those obligations owed under the law or to pursue truth and justice, attentive to their unique best possible outcome.

Our Will Contests, Trust Disputes, and Fiduciary Litigation practice includes:

• Will contests including in the case of a “no contest” will
• Trust disputes involving the question of whether the creator of a trust was of sound mind, was coerced, or was otherwise the victim of fraud
• Suits for aid and guidance
• Suits regarding will and trust interpretation, to construe the meaning or directives of a will or trust
• Fiduciary (executor, trustee, attorney-in-fact) mismanagement and breach of fiduciary duty claims
• Actions seeking the removal of a fiduciary
• Disputes between co-Trustees, co-Executors, or co-Administrators
• Disputes between beneficiaries, or between beneficiaries and fiduciaries
• Litigation seeking to establish or probate a will copy, to compel production of a will, to grant fiduciary powers, and other probate matters
• Claims and challenges to fees and commissions
• Trust modification or termination claims
• Suits seeking the appointment of a guardian and/or conservator