His Anger Over Another Probate Dispute Was The Driving Cause So That Claimed Conservatorship Fees Were Unreasonable. Probate is one of those areas where attorney’s fees recoveries are guided, overwhelming, by equitable principles. Reaume v. Reaume, Case No. G054759/G054864 (4th Dist., Div. 3 March 12, 2019) (unpublished) well demonstrates this reality. There, one […]
4/3 DCA Also Determines Probate Court Section 859 Allows Doubling, But Not Trebling, Of Damages. Objector in Conservatorship of Ribal, Case No. G056105 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Jan. 18, 2019) (published) was ordered to return funds to the conservatorship and, on remand, the trial court awarded conservator post-judgment attorney’s fees incurred in attempts to
2/6 DCA Has Nice Discussion Of Similarities And Differences Between The Substantial Benefit Versus Common Fund Theories Of Fee Recovery. Generally, trust beneficiaries must pay their own attorney’s fees incurred in challenging a trustee’s conduct, even if they ultimately succeed. (Leader v. Cords, 182 Cal.App.4th 1588, 1595 (2010).) However, a court in its equitable discretion
Although Not Raised Artfully, Merits Of Objections Required An Evidentiary Hearing. Estate of Willard, Case No. 282122 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Jan. 2, 2019) (unpublished) is a case where an estate administrator of his mother’s estate did not gain any attention to his challenges to an attorney’s request for statutory and extraordinary probate fees.
Although Such Fees Should Usually Be Paid Forthwith, Probate Code Has Discretion To Defer Them For Payment Until Final Distributions Are Made. The common fund doctrine, which usually is at play in class action or probate cases, allows the person obtaining a benefit for a number of persons to be awarded attorney’s fees out
Because Insurance Company Controls The Litigation, Court Looks Past "Legal Fiction" That Decedent's Estate Is The Party. Amanda Meleski was injured when Albert Hotlen ran a red light and collided with her vehicle. But by the time Mr. Hotlen could be served with a summons, he was dead. However, Mr. Hotlen had purchased
Probate Code Section 1003 So Allows. In Berwick v. Walsh, Case No. G054632 (4th Dist., Div. 3 Oct. 30, 2018) (unpublished), the issue on appeal was whether a probate court could award GAL fees for a mother’s husband to be paid out of mother’s share of the trust. Temporary successor trustee contested that the
Decision Reminds Us That Probate Court Orders, For Appealability Purposes, Are Determined Under the Probate Code. Armstead v. De Macias, Case No. B284275 (2d Dist., Div. 4 Oct. 16, 2018) (unpublished) involved beneficiaries’ appeal of a probate court determination that $19,125 in attorney’s fees and $537.94 in costs should be awarded to trustee for
Although Trial Court Lacked Jurisdiction Over The Dispute In California, Fee Denials On Dueling Motions Was Justified Because Siblings Had To Await Determination In Texas Action. In Savage v. Savage, Case No. A150984 (1st Dist., Div. 1 Oct. 15, 2018) (unpublished) [parenthetically, maybe a good case name for court disputes – no?], two siblings
Deals With Compensability of Mediation, Personal Attorney, and Accounting Objection Fees. In an August 9, 2018 post, we discussed the unpublished opinion in Powell v. Tagami, a Fourth District, Division 1 decision relating to probate compensation for mediation work, personal litigant work, and accounting objector work where unwarranted ad hominem attacks were levied against
