Estates and Trusts Litigation: Using Decades of Experience to Tackle a Unique Area of Law
If you are a trustee, executor, guardian, other fiduciary or beneficiary, you know how complex disputes can be – and they have become increasingly common. This is truly a unique area of law that involves probate courts, orphans’ courts, tax courts and others. Attempting to resolve a dispute with an attorney without fiduciary litigation experience or a non-litigating attorney can have less than desirable results. Because our clients know we bring an equal measure of trusts and estates knowledge and litigation skills to their issues, many have relied on us for decades.
Our team of more than 20 attorneys throughout our Florida, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C. offices has the highly specific experience to assist you with these disputes:
- Probate and trust litigation
- Breach of fiduciary duty claims
- Surcharge actions
- Will contests
- Guardianship litigation
- Federal and state estate and inheritance tax disputes
We represent corporate and individual fiduciaries, charitable foundations, and estates and trusts in both administrative and court proceedings, as well as disputes among beneficiaries or between beneficiaries and fiduciaries. We have represented:
- Custodial banks accused of permitting a trustee to loot a trust
- Trustees sued by the trust beneficiary for alleged breach of fiduciary duty
- Beneficiaries suing trustees for alleged self-dealing and conflicts of interest
- Corporate trustees and co-trustees accused of abuse of discretion in distributing a trust’s assets
- Personal representatives and trustees in the administration of estates and trusts in litigation involving claims for undue influence, removal, modification and termination
Estate Litigation and Tax
When you are faced with an audit or controversy with the IRS or other taxing authority, you need an experienced advisor who can help you arrive at the best resolution. Our litigators bring in members of our tax team whenever necessary to advance your cause.
Working with Nonprofits
Nonprofits have their own set of issues when it comes to trusts, endowments and bequests, mergers and more. Our estates and trusts attorneys work closely with nonprofit hospitals and other nonprofits to prevent and resolve challenging tax issues and litigation.
Keeping You Informed
We keep our clients current on legal developments related to estates and trusts. We write and distribute an ongoing series of white papers on various topics: