Probate Litigation

When someone agrees to serve as an executor, they take on significant responsibilities. Managing estate assets, paying debts and navigating the probate process can require substantial time and effort. As such, executors are entitled to reasonable compensation for...

For a family that is already grieving, few things can create more tension than discovering a loved one’s will has changed unexpectedly before their death. Sometimes, those changes truly do reflect a person’s wishes. But, in some cases, those changes may have resulted...

A standard or traditional will identifies an individual's beneficiaries and provides instructions for the administration of their estate. Individuals who established trusts may use a trust to replace a will. Their trust can provide better control over the distribution...

When someone wants to draft an estate plan, one key element is that they have testamentary capacity. This often means that they can demonstrate the cognitive ability to understand their decisions and show that they are of sound mind. An estate plan is a binding legal...

When your family member files a petition for probate after a loved one’s death, the initial reaction is often relief because there is an executor who will handle the estate. But when months pass without updates or you suspect the estate’s value is shrinking, that...

Part of making an estate plan may include making future medical decisions. One way to do this is with a living will. It allows you to make decisions in advance about things like using a feeding tube, being kept on life support, being resuscitated and other matters of...

It is important that a person’s last wishes are respected after they pass away. However, there may be issues with a will or how a will was created that can leave loved ones confused and worried about how the deceased’s estate is managed. If family members and loved...

People often assume that their beneficiaries may get into estate disputes over major items. Maybe their parents’ house is incredibly valuable, and some beneficiaries want to keep it, while others simply want to sell it so they can get a portion of the money. They are...

Undue influence is sometimes a reason for litigation over an estate plan, a will, or even a trust. Essentially, it is an allegation that someone else influenced the person who was creating that plan. They would not have set the plan up this way on their own but were...

When contesting a will, proving that the deceased lacked testamentary capacity at the time of execution represents one of the most common and potentially successful grounds for challenging the document's validity.  Successfully challenging testamentary capacity...