Cases: Probate – Page 15 – Cal Attorneys Fees

Probate: Trustee Winning Trust Amendment Invalidity Battle Not Entitled To Fees Under Probate Code Section 21351(a) Or Under CCP Section 2033.420 Costs-Of-Proof Sanctions

April 4, 2014

Trustee Had Sought About $1 Million Under Both Statutes. In a lot of cases where pure or predominantly legal issues are involved, the lower court’s determinations on factual issues win the day. That is also the case in the fee proceeding area, where factual findings determine who actually prevailed if the record demonstrated […]

Probate: Attorney Performing Work For Future Income Beneficiary Before Trustor/Trustee/Beneficiary Of Revocable Trust Died Had No Standing To Seek Fees Because Future Income Beneficiary Had No Rights To Assert Against Trustee

Cases: Probate

March 29, 2014

Amended Petition for Fees Successfully Defeated on Demurrer. Attorneys doing probate work need to be careful about the clients they are representing to make sure there is some basis for fee entitlement. The next case illustrates one attorney losing a bid to obtain fees through an amended probate petition. An attorney in

Probate/Prevailing Party/Section 1717/Settlement: Voluntary Dismissal Of Probate Petition To Confirm Settlement Properly Supported Denial Of Attorney’s Fees To Opposing Parties

Cases: Prevailing Party, Cases: Probate, Cases: Section 1717, Cases: Settlement

March 19, 2014

Santisas Drove the Result in this One. In Berry v. Berry, Case No. D062914 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Mar. 18, 2014) (unpublished), one co-trustee/aligned other parties were not happy when a probate court denied their request for attorney’s fees under a settlement agreement fees clause after another co-trustee (a brother, of course) voluntarily

Probate: Stepmom Trustee Entitled To Some Recoupment Of Attorney’s Fees For Clarifying Trust And Obtaining Trust Splits

Cases: Probate

March 5, 2014

Probate Court Has Lots of Discretion In These Types of Fee Matters. Justice Moore, on behalf of a 3-0 panel in Vaughn v. Mahurin, Case No. G048636 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Mar. 4, 2014) (unpublished), acknowledged what we have seen from reviewing “Probate” posts over a number of years—probate courts have lots of

Probate/Costs: Matter, Including Elder Abuse Claim, Tried In Probate Court Governed By Discretionary Cost Recovery Provision Of Probate Code Section 1002

Cases: Costs, Cases: Probate

February 26, 2014

Costs Were Not Governed By CCP §§ 1032 or 998 Given How the Matter Was Tried. Feuding nephew beneficiaries of a trust set up by a widow without issue tried a case in probate court involving claims of undue influence, lack of capacity, and elder abuse. The judge hearing the case, by a

Probate Two-Fer: Routine Case And Then Britney Spears Conservatorship

Cases: Probate

January 30, 2014

Estate of Chamberlain, Case No. B245025 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Jan. 27, 2014) (Unpublished). This one was affirmed when a removed trustee was ordered to pay successor trustee’s attorney fees in connection with deposit of shares with the L.A. County Treasurer. This one has a good discussion on the difference between ordinary probate

Probate: Order Directing Conservatee’s Mother To Pay One-Half Of Conservators’ Attorney’s Fees Affirmed On Appeal

Cases: Probate

January 1, 2014

Failure to Appeal November 2011 Order Was Fatal to Appellate Reconsideration. Conservatee’s mother in Conservatorship of Gregory D., Case No. B245533 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 30, 2013) (unpublished) was ordered to pay one-half of the attorney’s fees of conservators’ counsel. She appealed, arguing that compensation for the attorney could only be charged

Probate/Sanctions: Trust Beneficiary Hit With $105,300 In Attorneys Fees And Costs To Trustee And Guardian Ad Litem Under CCP § 128.5 Does Not Get Relief On Appeal

Cases: Probate, Cases: Sanctions

November 23, 2013

Probate Court Equitable Powers Prevail. Estate of Sprott, Case No. B237989 (2d Dist., Div. 1 Nov. 22, 2013) (unpublished) is a case where a trust beneficiary of a modest trust estate of around $300,000 rang up over $100,000 in fees on bringing lots of motions which did not prevail. Ultimately, he was hit

Probate: Objections To Original Trustee Accounting, Even Though Supplemented, Gave Rise To Fee Entitlement To Beneficiaries Successfully Contesting Accountings

Cases: Probate

September 28, 2013

“Contest” To An Accounting To Be Read Liberally Under Probate Code Section 17211(b). In Estate of Wizel, Case No. B237990 (2d Dist., Div. 3 Sept. 16, 2013) (unpublished), trustee–who was eventually found to have breached his duties–filed an original accounting which was objected to by some trust beneficiaries. Trustee filed a supplement to

Probate: Application of CCP Statute Of Limitations Bar To Probate Code Section 2642 Fee Request Found Erroneous As A Matter Of Law

Cases: Probate

August 25, 2013

However, Some Guidance Provided For Remand Issues. Estate of M.C., Case No. E056772 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Aug. 23, 2013) (unpublished) involved a situation where attorney for an estate guardian filed to recover attorney’s fees for fairly routine accounting services. The probate court denied the fee request under Probate Code section 2642(b) in