Discovery in California Trust Contests

1. Discovery in Trust Contests: What It’s For

Discovery is how parties obtain evidence from the opposing side and from third parties. In a trust contest, discovery is the difference between suspicion and proof. It establishes timelines, tests credibility, and exposes control mechanisms that are rarely visible in the trust document itself.

In practical terms, discovery is where most trust invalidation cases are either built into strong settlement posture — or weakened into a case that cannot be proven.

2. The Evidence Map: What Discovery Must Prove

The discovery plan should track the legal theory. Different claims require different proof. Most trust invalidation cases use some combination of:
lack of capacity, undue influence, fraud, and execution/authority defects.

Lack of Capacity

• Medical records and cognitive assessments
• Medication history and functional limitations
• Witness testimony establishing decline and inability to understand consequences
• Drafting attorney intake (or lack of intake)

Undue Influence

• Control over access (isolation) and dependency evidence
• Financial control, account access, and transfers
• Communications showing pressure, coaching, or deception
• Evidence triggering presumptions (caregiver/drafter/fiduciary benefits)

Fraud

• Proof of misrepresentations and reliance
• Emails, texts, and third-party testimony showing false narratives
• Timing: what was said before execution and what changed after

Execution or Authority Defects

• The trust’s amendment/revocation method and compliance proof
• Signatures, witnesses, notary issues (if relevant)
• Chain of documents and “who directed what” evidence

3. Written Discovery: Party Documents and Responses

Written discovery is how you force the parties to identify and produce documents, communications, and positions that later become deposition exhibits and trial evidence.

In trust contest cases, written discovery commonly targets:

• All communications about the trust/amendment (email, text, messaging apps)
• Calendars, caregiver schedules, visitor logs, and travel records
• Financial records showing control, access, and transfers
• Estate planning drafts, instructions, and communications with counsel
• Documents showing who arranged appointments and transportation
• Any documents reflecting the settlor’s condition (notes, journals, care plans)

In real litigation, discovery responses are rarely complete on the first attempt. Supplementation is common. The key is to design requests that make incomplete responses obvious and difficult to defend.

4. Subpoenas: Banks, Doctors, Caregivers, and Third Parties

Many of the most important records in a trust contest are not held by the opposing party. They are held by third parties: banks, medical providers, facilities, payroll providers, and others.

Subpoenas take time — often weeks to months — and should be issued early. A late subpoena strategy can leave you without critical evidence when depositions and expert deadlines arrive.

Common subpoena targets

• Banks and brokerage firms (signature cards, access logs, transfers)
• Medical providers and facilities (records supporting capacity timelines)
• Care agencies and payroll providers (employment, hours, scope of care)
• Phone carriers / cloud accounts (as appropriate and lawful)
• Financial advisors and accountants (communications, notes, and directives)

5. Discovery Resistance: Objections, Delays, and Incomplete Productions

Resistance is the norm in high-stakes trust contests. Expect objections, claims of “no documents,” piecemeal productions, and late supplementation. Often, the party who benefited from a challenged amendment has every incentive to slow the case down.

Effective discovery strategy assumes resistance and designs a paper trail that positions the case for motions to compel — and, more importantly, for settlement leverage once resistance is exposed.

6. Meet-and-Confer and Motions to Compel

When responses are incomplete, the parties must typically meet and confer. If the dispute is not resolved, a motion to compel may be necessary.

Discovery motions are not “busy work.” They are often the mechanism that forces disclosure and breaks the other side’s ability to control the narrative. That said, motions are time-consuming and expensive, and fee recovery is not guaranteed.

7. Depositions: The Seven-Hour, One-Shot Testimony

Depositions are testimony under oath. They lock witnesses into a story and create evidence that can be used at trial. In most cases, each deposition is limited to seven hours, and you typically get only one opportunity to depose a witness without court approval.

That “one-shot” reality is why depositions should be scheduled after key documents are obtained — so the witness can be confronted with emails, bank records, medical notes, and timeline documents.

8. Key Depositions in Trust Invalidation Cases

The Drafting Attorney

• Intake: what information was gathered (and what was not)
• Who communicated with the attorney and who arranged the meeting
• Whether the settlor met alone or with a beneficiary present
• Notes, drafts, and communications showing influence or control

Caregivers / Companions

• Access control and isolation patterns
• Who managed medications, appointments, and finances
• What the settlor said privately vs. what appears in litigation narratives

Beneficiary-Wrongdoers (when alleged)

• Participation in planning, execution, and communications
• Financial benefit and timing of transfers
• Inconsistencies between documents and testimony

Treating Physicians (when appropriate)

• Cognitive status, diagnosis timeline, and functional impairment
• Medication effects and vulnerability factors
• Whether the patient could understand consequences and alternatives

9. Sequencing: The Discovery Playbook

The strongest trust contest cases follow a sequencing model:

1. Lock down third-party records early (medical + financial) by subpoena.
2. Serve party discovery aimed at communications, control, and planning participation.
3. Use the first productions to build a timeline and identify gaps.
4. Force completeness through meet-and-confer and motions where necessary.
5. Depose key witnesses only after you have the documents to confront them.
6. Develop experts once the factual record is stable.

This approach prevents depositions from becoming unproductive “fishing expeditions” and turns them into decisive events.

10. Practical Realities: Cost, Time, and Why Experience Matters

Discovery is where most litigation expense occurs. It is also where most meaningful leverage is created. The goal is not to do “more discovery.” The goal is to do the right discovery in the right order so the case becomes provable.

Many trust contests fail not because the law was wrong, but because evidence was never obtained: missed subpoena timing, incomplete requests, avoidable motion practice, or depositions taken before the documents were in hand.