CALIFORNIA TRUST LITIGATION AND #NO CONTEST CLAUSES
A very recent California Supreme Court trust case, whose opinion was issued literally days ago, brings to light whether someone may bring a #will challenge or #trust challenge when involved in #probate litigation or a #trust lawsuit.
#Trust beneficiaries filed a #trust petition to determine if their challenge to trustees’ administration would be prohibited under the #trust no contest clause. A #no contest clause for a trust tries to prohibit a #trust beneficiary from #objecting to the trust. The trustees filed a #trust petition regarding new #trust law.
CAN YOU CHALLENGE THE WILL?
Sometimes, #probate lawyers who write wills and trusts ask a client if they want a no contest clause.
- What they are talking about is a potential #will challenge.
- Some clients don’t want their last will and testament or their revocable trust to be changed after they die.
- Others may want to try to limit #probate litigation, or #inheritance lawsuits such as a #will challenge, or a #probate lawsuit like #tortious interference with an inheritance.
- But, are you really limiting #inheritance rights, and #beneficiary rights to an estate?
CAN YOU #CHALLENGE A FLORIDA WILL? No.
- No contest clauses in a #Florida will are invalid.
- No contest clauses in a #Florida trust are invalid.
- The #Florida probate code has a specific statute on no contest clauses
- the #Florida trust code has a specific statute on no contest clauses
- a no contest clause in a #Florida will or #Florida trust is invalid
FOR REFERRAL SOURCES, LAWYERS AND LITIGATORS
Our #Florida probate law firm
- does not draft 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
- we handle appeals
- restricts its practice to #Florida probate disputes
- 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 95% of our clients from other lawyers
- we take contingency fee cases.
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-, 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, The Wall Street Journal, MarketWatch, NBC, ABC and Fox.