trusts, wills and estate LITIGATION
Trusts, will and estate/probate litigation can be a difficult area, beginning with the fact that it typically centers around the death of a family member. It is not infrequent nowadays that family members pass, and siblings or other family members are not pleased with the testamentary choices made by the deceased, or the advise that was given to the deceased by other family members. This often results in contentious and painful litigation.
In the case of trust litigation, while often these types of cases do not center around the death of a family member, the all stem from the actual or perceived violation of the fiduciary duty a trustee owes to the trust beneficiary, or the use of a trust to try to shield assets from an estate (whether it be to avoid a creditor, or even a spouse).
What is the same about these types of cases and other more usual types of litigation is that, at their core, they still involve a discreet set of issues and an uncomplicated set of laws. While many people seek the counsel of a trusts, wills or estate planning / probate lawyer, in these peculiar types of litigation, trial counsel is usually the best choice.
Our experience in this area stems from what is likely one of the largest and most controversial estate litigation matters ever tried to verdict (in fact, tried 3 times). The case of Anna Nicole Smith suing for recovery of over $500million from the estate of her billionaire oil magnate husband, J. Howard Marshall, was widely publicized and resulted in the longest trial in Harris County history. Jeff Diamant, and 3 of his former partners, were the handling and trial counsel that represented the Estate of J. Howard Marshall. This team is the team that successfully kept Anna Nicole from ever recovering any money from J. Howard's estate. This litigation, lasting over 10 years of his career, touched issues in a huge array of legal areas, from a will contest, to estate issues, probate issues, trust and fiduciary issues and even questioned document analysis.
But the Anna Nicole Smith/Marshall litigation was only the start. Other experience includes:
- Will contests
- Trust / fiduciary issues in high-dollar divorce matters
- Fraud on the estate
- Probate litigation
- Trust contests
- Fiduciary litigation
- and more.
Whatever your trust, wills or estate litigation needs, we have the skill and experience to help you.