A variety of conflicts can arise concerning the interpretation and execution of estate documents, particularly when these documents were not properly drafted and executed.

Beneficiaries sometimes believe that the decedent’s representative is not acting in their best interest, has been tardy in performing fiduciary duties or has made unauthorized distributions. In some cases beneficiaries challenge the estate planning document itself, suggesting that the decedent was under undue influence or incapacitated when executing it, that the signature may be forged or that the decedent was unaware of what he or she was signing.

In challenges of this sort, our primary goal is to maximize the benefit from the estate to the beneficiaries. To that end, we reserve costly litigation as a last resort and attempt to resolve any conflicts between fiduciaries and beneficiaries through settlement, negotiation or mediation.

We can assist fiduciaries and beneficiaries with a variety of actions. For example,

If you have a matter relating to the trustee’s performance of fiduciary duties, click here for further information.

If you have an issue relating to the fiduciary’s accounting duties, click here for further information.

If you require a court declaration as to the ownership of real property, please contact us for information on quiet title actions.

If you are a trustee who lacks clear instructions on how to calculate a creditor’s share or similar matter, or if you have received multiple, inconsistent claims for the same property, please contact us to file a Petition for Instructions or Interpleader Action.


Other petitions:

Petition to obtain court confirmation of a settlement agreement, thus blocking beneficiaries from later contest or litigation. Please contact us for further information.

Petition to confirm that certain actions have been taken by the trustee in good faith. Please contact us for further information.

Petition to determine that a particular beneficiary action does not constitute a contest. Please contact us for further information.




Have Your Fiduciary Duties Been Violated?

Trustees are legally entitled to make only those distributions which are authorized by the trust document, or, if the trust document is silent, distributions that are authorized by state law. Sometimes trustees, with the best of intentions, make distributions they believe the decedent would have wanted or was in the habit of making, but which are not provided for in the trust document. If you have a disagreement of this nature, please contact us for further information.

Beneficiaries sometimes believe that too much money has been spent on fees to the trustee or third parties, that assets were not properly invested or that a distribution was made to a person who was not entitled to it. If you are a beneficiary in this situation, or a trustee who believes that the beneficiary’s claim is not justified, please contact us for further information.




Has the Trustee Failed to Provide an Accounting?

If you are a beneficiary who believes that the trustee has been tardy in fulfilling accounting duties, please contact us to file a Demand for Accounting. The trustee’s accounting will list:

• All assets and their values as of the date the trustee began managing the estate
• Receipts of income, including tax refunds, dividends, interest, rental income, refunds on property or casualty insurance, sale of property and other income
• All disbursements made from trust property

If despite a Demand for Accounting, the trustee’s accounting is not forthcoming, our next step is to file a Petition to Compel Accounting. If approved, the court will order the trustee to account within 30 days to the beneficiaries for all actions taken since the beginning of the fiduciary relationship.

Once we receive the trustee’s accounting, we can review it with you to check if assets and disbursements have been properly managed by the trustee. If there are discrepancies, we will help you settle them through court petition, negotiation, mediation or, as a last resort, litigation.