The firm represents litigants in the varied aspects of litigation relating to trusts and estates, including Probate Code Sections 850 and 17200 actions, and actions filed in the civil courts. The firm has successfully represented successor Trustees who find themselves in a difficult position when they are sued by relatives of the decedent who feel they were not given their share of the Estate. Many of the allegations alleged by these litigants involve undue influence by the named beneficiaries of the estate or lack of capacity by the decedent when choosing the beneficiaries. On the other side, the firm has had success in representing beneficiaries in elder abuse actions, where a new “friend” of the elder has changed the Estate plan to favor him or herself, when in fact the elder did not have the capacity to do so, and was subject to undue influence. The firm has represented private litigants in disputes over gifts and property transfers, as well as charitable institutions seeking to uphold gifts made to the institutions from familial and other challenges. The firm has also successfully petitioned for lump sum distributions from a charitable remainder unitrust to the life income beneficiary and the charitable remainderman.
