Estate Litigation Attorneys in Los Angeles, CA

los angeles

The attorneys of Albertson & Davidson handle a wide range of litigation matters involving trusts, wills, estate disputes, and probate in the Los Angeles area and throughout California. We are aggressive trial attorneys who focus solely on complex and high-stake cases involving the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next.

Albertson & Davidson represents individual beneficiaries, fiduciaries, executors, and others in legal disputes involving trust and will contests, actions to remove fiduciaries or trustees, elder financial abuse claims, and third-party transaction disputes.

We represent clients who have discovered that someone has been stealing from their inheritance, mishandling trust administration, or manipulating a situation for their own financial gain. Our legal team has extensive experience navigating disputes among family members and legal challenges over trusts, wills, and other sensitive situations. Our trust litigation lawyers use our specialized knowledge of trust and estate law and extensive litigation experience to our clients’ benefit when inheritance disputes arise.

Let the Los Angeles trust litigation attorneys at Albertson & Davidson, LLP review the details of your inheritance dispute and discuss whether a trust contest lawsuit or other steps are appropriate in your case. Call (800) 601-0170 to schedule a consultation. We pursue trust, will, and estate litigation on a contingency fee basis. You can obtain skilled legal counsel without any upfront costs.

Albertson & Davidson, LLP

400 Continental Blvd.

6th Floor

El Segundo, CA 90245

Phone: (213) 670-7940

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Our Los Angeles estate litigation attorneys have the legal knowledge and experience honed from years of focus on this sensitive and complex area of law.

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Steps in Trust and Estate Litigation

When an individual dies, and a dispute arises about a will, trust, or other aspects of the administration of the deceased’s estate, any issues that cannot be resolved through negotiation must be litigated in probate court. If your inheritance is being legally challenged, someone has used undue influence to deprive you of an inheritance, or you need to mount a challenge to preserve what is rightfully yours, you need the guidance of an experienced probate litigation attorney.

Pre-Litigation Considerations

Trust litigation and estate litigation cases are typically disputes over the contents of legal documents or the lack of documentation reflecting the deceased individual’s wishes. To begin our work for you, we would review such documentation as a copy of the will or trust instruments, relevant correspondence with or by the decedent, correspondence from the administrator of the estate or other beneficiaries, and general information about the decedent’s state of mind. If a complaint has already been filed, we can obtain a copy of it.

We will also ask you about the names and contact information of any interested parties in the case and of potential witnesses who have direct knowledge of the issue.

Once we have all the relevant documents, we can investigate the facts surrounding your claim or the claim you are answering and the California law applicable to the case. Then, we can plan an appropriate course of action for you and guide you through the legal process.

In some cases, we can negotiate a resolution to a dispute on your behalf. We will always first seek to contact all parties to a dispute and try to resolve the issues at hand in a fair and equitable manner.

Practice Areas Of Our Estate Litigation Attorneys

If questions about a California trust, will, probate proceeding, or wrongful death are leading to conflict over an inheritance you were expecting, our El Segundo estate and trust litigation attorneys may be able to help you resolve the matter. We initiate and defend against lawsuits pertaining to:

The Litigation Process

If our probate litigation lawyers need to move forward with a claim for you, we will file a lawsuit in your name stating your claims against the individual or individuals involved with the estate. If a complaint has already been filed against you, we will answer it on your behalf. If you file a complaint, the other party has the right to respond with a defense and/or their own allegations against you.

A complaint filed in probate court might ask the court to:

In many cases, a judge will order mediation after a complaint has been filed. In mediation, a neutral third party, such as a retired probate court judge or attorney, tries to guide the parties toward a compromise resolution.

Discovery Phase

If mediation fails, a lawsuit moves to the discovery phase. Discovery requires each side in the case to share their evidence with the other side and for each party to the case to answer the other side’s questions in a sworn deposition.

Discovery is meant to let each side know the facts of the case so they may argue the law in court. Discovery usually helps each side understand how strong their case is.

Trial and Settlement Options

Many trust litigation cases are settled after discovery. A case may be resolved at any point, even during a trial, if it is before the court reaches a verdict. We will present all settlement offers to you along with our recommendations about whether the offer is reasonable. Whether to settle is your decision. If a case cannot be settled, we will be prepared to take a strong case to trial and apply our experience as trial attorneys to advocate for you.

If your case goes to trial, we will prepare you for what to expect in court. We are committed to understanding client priorities, involving them in strategic decisions, and working closely to achieve their goals.

At trial, each side presents an overview of the case, and then the party that initiated the case presents witness testimony and other evidence. Each side has an opportunity to cross-examine the other side’s witnesses. To conclude, each side presents a closing argument.

You will not be required to testify, but the opposing side can cross-examine you if you do testify. We will discuss whether you’ll need to testify and prepare you if you do. We cannot tell you how to answer questions. However, we can tell you what we will ask you and the questions you are likely to face under cross-examination.

Most probate cases are heard by a judge, but elder abuse cases go before a jury. After the trial, the judge has 90 days to issue a decision. A jury usually begins deliberations right away and can take several hours to a few days to return a verdict.

Get In Touch With Our Experienced Trust Litigation Lawyers in Los Angeles, CA

If you have concerns about the will, trust, or estate of a recently deceased loved one or you are involved in a probate dispute, a trust litigation lawyer with Albertson & Davidson LLP can provide guidance. Our experienced California trust litigation attorneys can advise you of your options and represent you throughout the whole process.

We are tough negotiators and hard-nosed litigators. In keeping with the motto of our law firm, “Stand. Fight. Win,” our legal team has recovered more than $250 million in verdicts and settlements for deserving clients throughout California. Contact us online or at (800) 601-0170 today for a free and confidential consultation.