The telephone call can be long or short. The message may be clear at the outset or only parsed out after a series of my seemingly unrelated questions. The caller’s emotions may be controlled or buffeted by a frustrating mix of disbelief and surprise from trustee mistreatment – even theft. The story elements are much the same – the caller is a child of a now-deceased parent who provided for the child in a trust. The trustee may be the child’s sibling, an appointed licensed fiduciary, a bank, or a securities company. Whoever the trustee is – the duty is the same – “The trustee has a duty to administer the trust solely in the interest of the beneficiaries.”[1] In 2000 the United States Supreme Court described this duty: “Perh[...]

Recent Judicial Council of California Court Statistics confirm that Los Angeles probate and mental health court trials total over 14,000 per year. Many of these trials involve beneficiary allegations of wrongdoing against a trustee or battles to remove an existing trustee. So what is the background that sets the stage for trustee disputes in LA? We start with noting that a living trust becomes irrevocable at the death or incapacity of its maker. New trustees are often appointed when the trust becomes irrevocable or when conflicts arise between a beneficiary and the trustee. Conflicts between former trustees and new or successor trustees often arise when the successor trustee requests some, if not all, documents in the possession of the f[...]

What happened to Mom and Dad’s house? We’re estate, trust and elder financial abuse litigators. We’ve heard this question asked of us time and time again. Why? Well, family house transfers are often ground zero for estate and trust fights. The facts change, but the parties, transfer techniques, and general family shock at learning of the living or estate transfers follow certain patterns. So how do these house fights develop? Your mom or your dad is a widow or widower. He or she lives alone or with an essentially dependent adult child. The adult child may be on a Social Security and Supplemental Security Income disability program. Many times the adult child has an alcohol or substance abuse problem. Your elderly parent is vulnerabl[...]

California superior courts have both probate departments and civil departments. Some cases may be filed in either the probate or civil department. There are also cases like financial elder abuse that may be filed in the civil department or the probate department. The probate department exercises jurisdiction over proceeding brought under the probate code. There is generally no right to a jury trial in probate proceedings. On the other hand a plaintiff in a civil case has the right to try issues before a jury. This right is enshrined in our California Constitution that states “Trial by jury is an inviolate right and shall be secured by all ...” We file and try elder financial abuse cases in the civil departments of the superior court.[...]

Trust beneficiaries in Los Angeles have specific rights that are protected under California law. That means when your rights are violated, wrongdoers must be held accountable. Every day LA’s Stanley Mosk Courthouse is host to numerous estate and trust litigation disputes, and many of these cases revolve around the misbehavior of a trustee or fiduciary against a beneficiary. According to California Probate Code 16060, trustees have a legal duty toward the beneficiaries of a trust. It is incumbent upon trustees to keep beneficiaries “reasonably informed of the trust and its administration.” A trustee must also administer the trust and its assets “with skill, care and caution, solely in the interests of the beneficiaries.” When a tr[...]

As the largest city in California, Los Angeles is ground zero for theft from trusts and fraud against the elderly, also known as elder financial abuse. Los Angeles County is home to a large senior population, and by 2020 it’s set to increase by 43%. With this figure in mind, families must ensure that their elderly loved ones are safeguarded against exploitation and undue influence. All too often I’ve seen cases of vulnerable elders who were tricked or pressured into changing their will or trust to overwhelmingly benefit one family member or an estate interloper. I’ve also witnessed how wrongdoers have hidden or altered estate and trust documents in order to hijack assets, property, and even entire houses that never belonged to them[...]

No one likes to be treated unfairly. We all have our stories when we’ve suffered an injustice, from being kids in school to our adulthood. And it’s no different when you’re a trust beneficiary whose rights have been violated. Los Angeles estate and trust litigation is a challenging field where you’ll need an attorney with experience and the right skills to safeguard your interests. At Hackard Law, we represent LA-area clients who have been frozen out of their inheritance – maybe a bad trustee has overstepped their bounds, or a wrongdoer has committed elder financial abuse. It’s our job to prevent any further harm to our client and to right the wrong. When potential clients call to speak with me, they’ve already been through a[...]

No one likes to be treated unfairly. We all have our stories when we’ve suffered an injustice, from being kids in school to our adulthood. And it’s no different when you’re a trust beneficiary whose rights have been violated. Los Angeles estate and trust litigation is a challenging field where you’ll need an attorney with experience and the right skills to safeguard your interests. At Hackard Law, we represent LA-area clients who have been frozen out of their inheritance – maybe a bad trustee has overstepped their bounds, or a wrongdoer has committed elder financial abuse. It’s our job to prevent any further harm to our client and to right the wrong. When potential clients call to speak with me, they’ve already been through a[...]

In any family there should be love, compassion and loyalty. Yet in just about every family there can also be estate fights. The problem with long-hidden family conflicts is that when they surface, it often seems too late for reconciliation. Secrets and untold stories tend to come up on deathbeds and ride in on the aftershocks of loss. From false promises to theft, the real question is not "Can this happen to you?", but rather, "Can you trust those you grew up with?" We all want to, but with trust lawsuits sometimes we learn the hard way that life isn't that simple. Conflicts over trusts and estates can appear from nowhere; family members might never even realize they were deceived until everything they had expected as a lawful inheritanc[...]

Family members of elderly victims of undue influence - a phenomenon often connected with elder financial abuse - recoil in disbelief when learning of an elder's coerced gift or bequest property transfers. This disbelief gives way to hurt and outrage as the estate thief makes brazen, insincere and false claims to the estate. It’s our job as probate and trust litigation attorneys to systematically gather supporting evidence to overcome the actions of estate thieves. Developing these cases often depends on claims of undue influence. "Undue influence" in California means excessive persuasion that causes another person to act or refrain from acting by overcoming that person's free will and results in inequity. California law considers a num[...]