Resolving Estate and Trust Disputes | The Tip of the Iceberg

Most of us experience some disquiet when we first meet with a professional whom we've sought out to help solve a problem. It can be hard to put into words the situation that we're in, or even what help we need. We don't know what we don't know. We do know that something is wrong, and we need help in getting it fixed.

It's okay unfamiliar with a particular profession's words of art. We wouldn't tell our doctor we have "chondromalacia patella", and it is the source of our knee pain. We'd probably leave that to our doctor. We wouldn't tell our dentist we have "percussion" or "palpation" at "number 16" - more likely we'll say, "my tooth hurts." And, so it is understandable that people with little exposure to estate, trust and elder financial abuse law can have trouble describing what happened to their loved one or her estate.

Estate and trust disputes are disquieting. Family tensions, asset transfers, questionable joint accounts, unknown liabilities, tax challenges and lingering grief make a path to resolution seem long-distant or at the very least, murky. Many times, our first conversations with prospective clients are the equivalent of the "my tooth hurts" dentist visit. In the words of Bob Dylan, "something is happening here, but ya' don't know what it is, do you, Mister Jones?"

We hope that our experience and training help to identify just what is happening here. Decades of law practice aid us, but no one has "seen it all before." There are new things under the Sun. That said, experience is a good teacher. We work to elicit the facts of the case. Is this a wrongful transfer case? Power of attorney abuse? Trustee wrongdoing? Undue influence? Capacity? Fraud? Stolen assets? Whatever it is, I can say with some certainty that there is always more than meets the eye.

It helps to understand that estate and trust disputes can involve subtleties and sub-currents not easily identified. At Hackard Law we've seen and worked on lots of estate and trust litigation battles. You don't have to diagnosis your own case to talk with us. We regularly litigate in Los Angeles, the East Bay, Sacramento and Santa Clara counties. We're at 916-313-3030 if you would like to discuss your estate, trust or elder financial abuse case. We believe in better, and so should you.

Resolving Estate and Trust Disputes | The Tip of the Iceberg from Hackard Law on Vimeo.