Marin County Trust and Estate Litigation

In brief: Hackard Law represents beneficiaries and families in Marin County trust contests, trustee disputes, and elder financial abuse cases. These cases are heard in the probate department of Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael. Michael Hackard has practiced California trust and estate litigation for fifty years, and the firm works on contingency: no fee and no costs if there is no recovery, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

By Michael Hackard, California trust and estate litigation attorney. Last reviewed October 26, 2026. Published November 2, 2026.

A trust is amended in the last months of a life. A caregiver’s name appears on a deed. A trustee stops returning calls. In Marin County these disputes are heard at the Civic Center in San Rafael. Very often they are about a house worth more than everything else the family owns.

Michael Hackard has litigated California trust, estate, and elder financial abuse cases for fifty years. Hackard Law represents beneficiaries and families on a contingency basis. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

Call the Sage: (916) 313-3030

What families notice first

Most cases begin with one detail that does not fit. A daughter finds an amendment dated three weeks before her mother died. A son learns the house was quietly deeded during a hospital stay. A trustee who used to send statements sends nothing.

These are patterns, and they repeat:

• The deathbed signing. New documents executed during a final illness, often with a new lawyer and no family present.
• Isolation. Calls go unreturned. Visits are discouraged. One person controls access to the parent.
• Pre-death estate stripping. Accounts retitled, beneficiaries changed, property transferred before death, so that the trust holds little when it finally speaks.
• The silent trustee. No notification, no accounting, no answers.

Noticing the pattern early matters. California deadlines in this area are short, and some of them run from the day a notice arrives in the mail.

How a trust dispute moves through Marin County Superior Court

Trust and probate matters are heard in the probate department of the Marin County Superior Court, Hall of Justice, Marin County Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, California 94903. The court’s local probate rules, effective July 1, 2026, shape every step.

1. The petition. Trust disputes are filed as petitions under Probate Code § 17200. Trust matters require thirty days’ notice to interested persons (Local Rule 6.65).
2. Review before the hearing. A Probate Research Attorney reviews filed papers. Tentative rulings are available online after 2:00 p.m. the court day before the hearing (Local Rule 6.2(D)).
3. The tentative becomes the order. To be heard, a party must request argument by 4:00 p.m. that day and notify the other side. Otherwise the tentative ruling becomes the court’s order. Missing this window can decide a matter without a word spoken.
4. Written objections and a good-faith meeting. Objections must be in writing. Before an evidentiary hearing is set, the parties must try in good faith to resolve the dispute, and each files a Statement of Issues at least five court days before the hearing (Local Rule 6.2(E)).
5. Mandatory settlement conference. A settlement conference is required when a trial or evidentiary hearing has been demanded, with the date set at a status conference. Parties must lodge a settlement conference statement with the court at least ten court days before the conference. All counsel must attend with settlement authority and complete familiarity with the case, accompanied by their clients. Exceptions require advance written court approval (Local Rule 6.5).
6. Discovery disputes. The civil discovery facilitator program applies to probate cases (Local Rule 6.4).

Venue is not automatic. A trust dispute belongs in the county where the trust is principally administered (Probate Code § 17005), which is not always the county where the parent lived. That question is answered first.

Cases we handle in Marin County

Trust contests. Challenges to trusts and amendments for lack of capacity (Probate Code §§ 810–812), undue influence, fraud, or duress. Gifts to a care custodian or to the person who drafted the document may be presumed invalid (Probate Code § 21380).

Trustee removal and surcharge. A trustee may be removed for breach of trust, unfitness, failure or refusal to act, excessive compensation, or other good cause (Probate Code § 15642). If trust property is at risk while removal is pending, the court can suspend the trustee’s powers. A trustee who breaches the trust can be ordered to restore what was lost (Probate Code § 16420).

Accountings. Trustees must keep beneficiaries reasonably informed and account (Probate Code §§ 16060–16062). When they do not, the court can compel it (Probate Code § 17200(b)(7)).

Recovering property. A petition under Probate Code § 850 reaches property wrongfully held by another, including real estate. A person who took property in bad faith is liable for twice its value (Probate Code § 859).

Elder financial abuse. Taking, hiding, or keeping the property of a person 65 or older for a wrongful use, or by undue influence, is financial abuse (Welfare & Institutions Code §§ 15610.27, 15610.30). When it is proven, the court awards attorney’s fees and costs (Welfare & Institutions Code § 15657.5).

When the family advisor serves as trustee

In Marin County, a long-time financial advisor or accountant may personally serve as trustee of a family’s trust. That individual takes on the duties of a trustee, including loyalty, impartiality, and accounting. Beneficiaries can challenge self-dealing, seek accountings, and ask the court to remove a trustee who breaches those duties.

Hackard Law handles disputes involving individual advisors or accountants who personally serve as trustees. The firm does not handle claims against banks, brokerages, or corporate trustees.

The man who wrote the book reads the file

Michael Hackard is the author of six books on elder vulnerability and family protection, including Stolen Inheritance and Alzheimer’s, Widowed Stepmothers & Estate Crimes. He has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means. He has been AV Preeminent rated by Martindale-Hubbell for more than forty years and has received Super Lawyers recognition.

The patterns on this page come from those books, and from fifty years of files.

“After thousands of cases, I see the patterns others miss.”

How fees work

Hackard Law represents families on a contingency basis. The fee is a percentage of the recovery, stated in a written agreement before any work begins.

The firm advances the costs of the case: filing fees, experts, depositions, and records. Those costs are repaid from the recovery before the fee is calculated. If there is no recovery, you owe no fee and no costs, unless your written agreement provides otherwise.

In elder financial abuse cases, the law may also require the wrongdoer to pay attorney’s fees.