Trustee Awarded Fee and Costs Based on Trial Court’s Determination that Beneficiary Presented Petition for Breach of Trust and Removal in Bad Faith. “No good deed goes unpunished.” Although this saying frequently captures the moment, the next case actually demonstrates the opposite—a trustee’s kindness to his sister in a probate estate situation was […]
Appellate Court Faces First Impression Issue of Construing “Contests the Trustee’s Account” Language in Statute. Probate Code section 17211(b) gives discretion to award attorney’s fees to a trust beneficiary who “contests the trustee’s account,” if the court determines the trustee’s opposition to the contest was “without reasonable cause and in bad faith.” The
Beneficiaries Did Get Fees From Trust “Common Fund” Doctrine, But Did Not Hit Trustee For Fee Recovery. Let us tell you, probate cases are tough and pit familial members at each other in bitter disputes. The next case is no different and shows how both lower/appellate courts labor with these difficult controversies. Two
Fourth District, Division 3 Finds That Fee Recordkeeping and Trust Litigation Expenses Must Be Scrutinzed Closely to Determine if Fees Were Reasonable and Appropriate From a Trust Benefitting Perspective. Donahue v. Donahue, Case Nos. G040628/G041503 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 24, 2010) (certified for publication), is sure to be a widely cited opinion when
Second District, Division 3 Finds Lack of Hearing Notice and Failure to Stipulate to a Temporary Judge Required As Bases For Overturning Order. A commissioner awarded a court-appointed conservatee’s attorney fees of $9,170 payable out of the estate. Conservatee’s husband appealed the fee order, obtaining a reversal in Conservatorship of Davis, Case No.
Fourth District, Division 1 Finds Appeal Premature in Lots of Respects. In Reedy v. Bussell, Case No. D054569 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Jan. 6, 2010) (unpublished), trustee won an interlocutory judgment quieting title and ordering a partition by sale of a 131-acre ranch as against a trust beneficiary. The lower court awarded attorney’s fees
Part 1 of 2: First Ten Grouping—Nos. 11-20. As noted in an earlier post, we have accumulated our “top 20” attorney’s fees decisions, recognizing that we limit the list to published decisions and that the order reflects nothing about the importance of the decision. Rather, we try to survey decisions of interest in different
Only One-Third in Extraordinary Compensation Granted to Attorney Under Probate Code Section 10811. Attorney for personal estate representatives was only awarded $20,912.50 out of a requested $62,737.50 in extraordinary compensation under Probate Code section 10811(a), which allows for such an award “in an amount the court determines is just and reasonable.” Unhappy, he appealed
Court of Appeal Examines Various Provisions on Awarding Probate Fees and on Having Trust Pay the Fee Awards. In two somewhat companion cases, the Fourth District, Division 2 has done a nice job of examining various Probate Code statutes relating to the award of attorney’s fees and where they should be paid from.
Fifth District, in Published Decision, Supports Broad Equitable Powers of Probate Courts. Probate contests are often donnybrooks between different beneficiaries or relatives. This next one was certainly that. However, the losing minority beneficiaries caused the trustee to expend lots of attorney’s fees, which were recouped when the probate court ruled they could be obtained
