Case One Rejects Adoption of Lodestar Methodology For Probate Cases; Case Two Determines that Fee Request for Successful Defense of Will Contest Must Be First Directed to the Trial Court Rather than the Appellate Tribunal. Now we have two cases of interest to probate and estate practitioners. The first case is Conservatorship of […]
Probate Code sections 17211(b) and 16061.9(b) Are Proper Statutory Predicates For Fee Awards. Attorney’s fees awards in probate actions must have a statutory basis. (Estate of Trynan, 49 Cal.3d 868, 874 (1989). Two bases for awards were at issue in the next case we discuss. In Matthews
First District, Division One Discusses This Equitable Doctrine. In our September 16, 2008 post, we discussed Estate of Daley, which summarized the normal compensation principles applicable in probate proceedings. Usually, the court awards compensation as either “ordinary” or “extraordinary” in categorical nature. “Extraordinary compensation” includes attorney’s fees that the probate court,
Division One Notes the Difference Between "Ordinary" and "Extraordinary" Compensation From An Estate. In a case that apparently has generated roundelays of appeals, the First District, Division One did a nice job of distinguishing "ordinary" and "extraordinary" compensation from the probate estate. The Court of Appeal, in Estate of Daley, Case
Appellate Panel Rejects Beneficiaries’ Challenge Under Probate Code Section 11003 As Inapt. We would like to welcome probate practitioners to our blog. This is one of our inaugural posts on the discretion probate courts possess to award extraordinary fees to attorneys. Given this discretion, we would surmise that few appeals are
Proprietor’s Ratification Triggered Fee Liability to Conservator When House Sold For Less Than Its Fair Market Value. Welfare and Institutions Code section 15657.5 has a mandatory fee-shifting provision that authorizes an award of reasonable attorney’s fees and costs (including conservator’s fees devoted to litigation) when a defendant is proven liable for
Second District Awards About Only a Tenth of Requested Fees Based on Failure to Segregate Services and Comply With California Rules of Court. Here is a new area that we have not yet addressed—attorney’s fees awarded in a conservatorship. As in other substantive areas, it is necessary to provide proper substantiation
