Cases: Probate

  Beneficiary Failed To Show Fee Entitlement As A Matter Of Law.       In Morgan-Perales v. Savage, Case No. G052317 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 9, 2017) (unpublished), an assigned trial judge surcharged a trustee’s interest in a primary trust asset for failure to make rental payments, awarded a beneficiary attorney’s fees for successfully challenging […]

Single Probate Asset Cannot Be "Double Dipped" In Single-Asset LLC Context.     Bock v. Superior Court, Case No. B267174 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Mar. 6, 2017) (unpublished) is a case which involves ordinary compensation for probate attorneys representing personal representatives of a probate estate under Probate Code section 10810–calculated on a sliding scale based on the

Trial Court Denial on Bad Faith Basis Sustained Against Brother, Even Though Reasonable Cause Element Was Met.     Koppl v. Zimmerman, Case No. A146743 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Feb. 27, 2017) (unpublished) is a good illustration that in order to recover expenses from a beneficiary, a trustee has to prove both that a beneficiary in

  Case Concerns Trial Court Authority To Award Fees/Costs To Appointed Attorneys For Proposed Conservatees.       This next case, Conservatorship v. Hilton, Case No. B267076 (2d Dist., Div. 2 Feb. 7, 2017) (unpublished), likely is of interest to probate/conservatorship attorneys.       The Los Angeles County Superior court has a program to appoint experienced probate attorneys

  However, Fees Can Only Be Imposed Against Beneficiaries’ Trust Shares, Not Imposed Personally Against Them.      Driving nail in coffin.  May, 1918.  Library of Congress.      Pizarro v. Reynoso, Case No. C077594 (3d Dist. Jan. 18, 2017) (published) is a situation where a probate court imposed attorney’s fees against beneficiaries after finding the litigants

  Losing Co-Trustee Had Reasonable Bases To Challenge Beneficiary’s Accounting Objections.     In Levy v. Jones, Case No. G051661 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 25, 2016) (unpublished), one beneficiary/co-trustee successfully obtained a $25,000 attorney’s fees award against another co-trustee based on objections to the trustee’s accounting.  The appellate court, in a 3-0 decision authored by

  Probate Court Has Broad Equitable Powers To Award Fees In Trust Challenges.     In Tyler v. Davis, Case No. D069463 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Sept. 21, 2016) (unpublished), a trust beneficiary and a named trustee were awarded $140,000 in attorney’s fees by a probate court after defeating challenges by other trust beneficiaries based on

  Shelton v. Larson, Case No. G050935 (4th Dist., Div. 3 July 13, 2016) (Unpublished).     In this first one, trustee’s fees and attorney’s fees incurred by trustee were denied altogether in disputes with trust beneficiaries, further complicated by the fact that the probate court never determined the trustee engaged in willful misconduct or gross