Our fiduciary litigation team is comprised of experienced trust and estate lawyers and litigators, who work closely to provide the services necessary to respond effectively and when necessary, aggressively, to protect our clients’ interests. Together with our tax team, we counsel clients on the tax, probate and fiduciary issues that commonly arise in complex disputes. We represent banks and financial institutions, trust companies, charitable entities, corporate fiduciaries, personal representatives, beneficiaries, trustees, executors, and heirs.

Our experience includes:

• Trust disputes
• Lack of capacity and undue influence claims
• Will contests
• Fraud claims
• Breach of fiduciary duty claims
• Business valuation disputes
• Interpleader actions
• Beneficiary disputes

Representative experience:

• Representation of institutional trustee in obtaining resolution of dispute between beneficiaries as to trust’s ownership of certain assets.
• Successful defense of a multi-million dollar Estate against claims of undue influence and tortious interference with an inheritance.
• Representation of second generation members of family-owned company in buyout negotiations over family land and manufacturing companies.
• Successful defense of trustee in proceeding seeking to remove trustee.
• Representation of trustee and certain beneficiaries in proceeding to amend irrevocable trust due to unanticipated circumstances.
• Representation of former CEO of company and beneficiary of decedent’s Estate related to claims of undue influence and unlawful transfer of decedent’s assets.
• Recovery of in excess of $100,000 in attorneys’ fees against a beneficiary who unsuccessfully asserted a claim of breach of fiduciary duty against a trustee.
• Representation of siblings as brother and sister as Trust beneficiaries and as Trustees related to claims of unlawful transfers of father’s assets prior to his death.
• Representation of individuals, beneficiary and Trust in circuit court, related to sale of family business.
• Successful defense of client in contested adult guardianship involving undue influence and powers of attorney dispute, resulting in an award of attorneys’ fees.
• Representation of trustee in breach of fiduciary duty and undue influence case involving “power of substitution of assets” trust provision.
• Served as expert witness in divorce action involving rights to spouse’s beneficial interest in an irrevocable trust.