Trust Litigation

Trial … pre-trial … appellate … mediation proceedings.

Serving California clients with comprehensive trust and estate litigation and mediation services since 1991.

Individuals with substantial assets are turning more frequently to the use of a trust instrument in addition to or in place of a will. A trust is a document where a person or entity (the trustee) manages the property of another (the trustor). Trust instruments can be created while the trustor is alive (an irrevocable or living trust) or substitute for a will (a revocable trust) to provide for the distribution of assets upon death. Like a will, the validity of a trust may be contested. Additionally, the trustee appointed to oversee the trust is sometimes sued for improper accounting and trust mismanagement.

At Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise, we specialize in trust litigation. Our significant experience in this area includes litigating on behalf of large trust beneficiaries as well as defending trust fiduciaries.

We represent clients in a variety of trust actions:

• trust contests;
• beneficiary claims;
• the validity of trusts (fraud, duress, undue influence, coercion, lack of capacity, proper trust formation, divining the trutor’s intent);
• trust reformation
• representation of trustees;
• accounting of trust finances;
• breach of a fiduciary duty; and
• trust misappropriation/mismanagement.

Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise attorneys represent individual beneficiaries, charitable organizations, and educational institutions in a diverse range of actions related to trust litigation. Our lawyers also represent individual and corporate trustees in complex trust-related disputes, including matters involving accounting, and claims of trust mismanagement, and breach of fiduciary duty.

If you have an interest in a trust, as a beneficiary or a trustee, contact one of the experienced attorneys at Sacks, Glazier, Franklin & Lodise to discuss your case and set up an appointment.

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