#ESTATE BENEFICIARY AND #TRUSTEE SUE #ESTATE ADMINISTRATOR OVER #LEGAL FEES AND #ESTATE ACCOUNTINGS
This is a very recent #estate litigation case from Arizona where the #estate beneficiary sued a #probate court-appointed #estate administrator over #attorneys fees and #estate accountings. The #probate court found in favor of the #estate administrator.
#ESTATE EXECUTOR WON’T OPEN UP THE #ESTATE—do you need #probate?
Mary’s father died in Arizona. She was named the #executor of her dad’s estate, also the #successor trustee of his #revocable trust and was his sole #beneficiary.
When Mary did not open up a #probate estate with the local #probate court, an #estate creditor did, asking that someone other than Mary be appointed to handle the #estate administration.
The #probate court appointed an #estate administrator.
#ESTATE BENEFICIARY DOES NOT GET ALONG WITH #ESTATE ADMINISTRATOR — #temporary executor
Mary did not get along with the #estate administrator, who was a kind of temporary #executor. She filed a number of #probate court petitions and motions, which, no doubt, increased the #expenses of administration and #estate legal fees. Did it hinder the #estate administration process? Was all the #probate papers which she filed worth it?
Miriam made very serious allegations about the #estate administrator — the one appointed by the #probate court judge.
#ESTATE BENEFICIARY ACCUSES #ADMINISTRATOR OF #ESTATE MISMANAGEMENT
Mary accused the #estate administrator of :
- mismanaging the estate and
- causing waste and
- depreciation of trust and estate properties.
The #probate court:
- prohibited Mary from serving as #co-trustee of her father’s #revocable trust,
- which was now an #irrevocable trust
- ordered Mary to re-convey the real property she had “wrongfully” deeded to herself in her individual capacity.
The appeals court which heard this #probate litigation case upheld the #probate court’s legal fees to the #estate administrator and approval of the #estate accountings.
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
We help you with Florida estate and trust administration and trials, and #probate appeals.
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not prepare estate plans
- does not draft wills and trusts
- does not steal your clients or your probates
Our #West Palm Beach, Florida #probate litigation firm :
- hands your clients back to you at the conclusion of the #Florida litigation—after all, they are YOUR clients
- we try cases & handle appeals
- our practice is restricted to #Florida probate disputes & contested guardianships
- we work with you on #Florida estate administration, #Florida probate
- we litigate for and protect beneficiary rights
- we represent #Florida personal representatives or executors, and #Florida trustees
- we receive approximately 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases
Who are we? Our firm is comprised of
- serious Florida litigators,
- focused probate lawyers,
- experienced paralegals and support staff.
We have been involved in high profile, nine figure, multi-million-dollar #Florida estates, including Madoff matters, old # Palm Beach money and complex trusts and multi-party #Florida probates. We also handle “small” or “simple” matters. All we do is litigate and help you with #Florida estate and trust administration. #Tortious interference with an inheritance and allegations of #undue influence, and #will challenges and trust challenges are a unique subspecialty of the law. Does your client know which ones to file, when to do that, and why? Do you know the different ways to prove each case? How about quantifying or assessing damages? It would be our pleasure to work with you and to serve your clients. For a complete copy of this very recent legal opinion please email michelle@pankauskilawfirm.com.
John Pankauski, www.johnpankauski.com, is the author of The Trustee’s Book – An Individual’s Guide To Money, Misfits, Marriages, and Mismanagement, and the upcoming The $41 Trillion Inheritance War. He is an estate and trust litigator in West Palm Beach, Florida, www.pankauskilawfirm.com and has been featured on the CBS Evening News, in The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox networks.