Building windows

Getting Results – Representative Matters

Trust & Estate Litigation

JMBM’s attorneys have successfully resolved lawsuits in federal, state and probate courts, as well as through arbitration before AAA, JAMS, and FINRA. Examples of our attorneys’ experience include the following:

For Fiduciaries

  • Represented a corporate fiduciary in litigation relating to investment management, alleged breach of fiduciary duties, duty to assert apparent undue influence, and environmental issues regarding undeveloped property.
  • Protected the rights of the world’s largest retirement membership organization to a significant charitable bequest, which the corporate fiduciary’s trust officer had attempted to assign to another institution with which the trust officer had a relationship.
  • Successfully defended Fortune 500 financial institutions, including bank trust companies, trust companies and other corporate fiduciaries, against claims of breach of fiduciary duty, breach of contract, prudent advisor act violations, regulatory violations, fraud and negligence involving financial institution products, and duties of loyalty.
  • Represented numerous corporate fiduciaries in disputes concerning appropriate investment advice, investment decisions and investment performance.
  • Successfully represented a $150 million estate in a complex case involving 36 corporate and LLC interests in 8 states, more than 70 residential and commercial property interests, and 20 financial accounts.
  • Represented fiduciaries in fraud cases involving charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts, in lawsuits that alleged kickbacks to the estate planning firm in exchange for being named as trustee or as beneficiaries of the trusts.

For Beneficiaries

  • Represented trust beneficiaries in litigation against individual trustee and beneficiary alleging undue influence, capacity, due execution, forgery, constructive trust and elder abuse.
  • Represented trust beneficiaries in litigation against the second spouse of the decedent, who allegedly had a hand in hastening the decedent’s death and exerted undue influence to modify the will and trust to her benefit in close proximity to decedent’s death.
  • Represented trust beneficiary in litigation against the trustee who did not properly account for the assets of the estate or make timely distribution as required by the trust.
  • Represented the settlor and trustee of a living trust who was sued by his beneficiary son for early distribution of a multi-million dollar bequest before it was due under an age restriction clause in the trust.
  • Represented family members in structuring a pre-death settlement of adverse claims that would have been asserted post-death through estate and trust litigation.
  • Resolved on very favorable terms, a beneficiary’s inheritance rights against a co-beneficiary who had secretly stolen estate property by prosecuting a civil action based upon the elder abuse claims of both the beneficiary and the decedent.