Specialized Litigation

We handle estate and trust administration litigation including actions to remove fiduciaries, for accountings and to preserve beneficiaries rights. We also handle actions to assert or defend an expected inheritance. Furthermore, we engage in litigation to protect and preserve homestead rights wrongfully removed.

For example, we have represented numerous beneficiaries of a trust whose rights were violated when another beneficiary took money from the grantor of the trust before he died, while he was incapacitated, and transferred that money to herself. We are holding the wrongdoer beneficiary accountable for her inequitable actions and forcing repayment of assets back into the trust so that payment can be made to the other beneficiaries.

We represent spouses, adult children and others who may be wrongfully accused of interfering with the estate plan of a spouse or parent or have a claim against someone who wrongfully interfered with an estate plan. We can defend a claim of this nature if there was no fraud involved and/or the decedent had capacity. Likewise, we institute proceedings against wrongdoers where there exists fraud, undue influence or incapacity to overturn the wrongful inheritance and recover the money.

We also have represented beneficiaries of a trust who are not receiving the full accounting and information regarding the distribution of trust assets. Florida law mandates accountings and disclosure of trust transactions. A beneficiary has a limited time to object to possible improper handling of trust assets so time may be of the essence.

There may be instances where two people are serving as co-trustees or co-personal representatives of a trust or under a will. If one of the persons is behaving improperly by refusing to cooperate and/or unilaterally making decisions without the other person, we advocate on behalf of that other person to protect and preserve their rights and responsibilities as a fiduciary.

When a beneficiary under someone's will is not receiving their inheritance, there may be actions taken by the personal representative that are improper and/or causing delay. We represent the interests of those beneficiaries in an estate administration action.

Homestead litigation typically occurs under one of two circumstances. One is where a property owner's homestead rights are improperly removed by the Property Appraiser's office. The other circumstance is when someone moves to Florida from another state and their homestead application is wrongfully denied because the Property Appraiser's office fails to recognize the finality of the move. Elder Law Associates PA assists its clients in establishing homestead status.

Please contact us to determine if your situation warrants our expertise in handling these types of specialized litigation matters.