Estate and Trust Litigation

We resolve will and trust disputes and protect family interests in the following situations and more:

• Spouses influencing a person’s affections towards their children from an earlier marriage
• Financial Exploitation of an older person
• A caregiver dominating a friend or relative by controlling access and inserting themselves into financial dealings
• A Power of Attorney entering into self-serving transactions or ones that are otherwise not the best interest of the principal
• What do you do when you suspect someone has influenced a friend or relative to change their will in a self-serving way?

We can help sort it out and pursue recovery of any funds improperly taken.

Not every probate or elder law attorney is prepared to tackle the complexities of this type of litigation. Mr. Bartenstein has been involved in litigating such cases since his tenure at MacKenzie and Peden, where in 1994 he won his first will contest jury trial. Over the past decade, Mr. Bartenstein has refined his expertise in this field by collaborating with Homer Parrent and Dan Oyler at their boutique firm that specializes in similar cases. At Bartenstein Law we offer over 35 years of experience to our clients, providing them with high-quality results at a competitive cost.

Our firm specializes in litigation surrounding the kinds of claims listed below:

Will and Trust contests or disputes

These are lawsuits where the person who writes a will or trust did not have sufficient mental capacity to understand what he or she was doing at the time, or was subject to undue influence. Undue influence can happen when a person in a place of trust and confidence has convinced another to act in a way that they would not have done, absent such influence.

These cases involve the analysis of volumes of financial records and witness testimony. Our extensive experience in discovery and motion practice related to discovery can be essential in achieving a good outcome.

Breach of fiduciary duty claims

These kinds of claims can arise where a person that has a power of attorney, or is otherwise in a place of trust and confidence takes advantage of that confidence. They can become joint owners of bank accounts and change beneficiaries on life insurance or retirement accounts in a way that completely alters the effect of any estate planning that might have been done.

Another example is where a Trustee or an Executor/Administrator under a will has failed to act impartially or in accordance with the language in the trust or will. Again, these kinds of claims involve complicated discovery issues and also can involve complicated issues over which court has jurisdiction over different aspects of the claims. Sorting through these issues involves expertise that is unique to this area of practice.

Dower (Spousal Interest) Claims / Enforcement of Prenuptial Agreements

Did your spouse give away all or most of his or her property to children from an earlier marriage? Unless there is a pre-nuptial agreement, you are entitled to recover from them one-half of the personal property and one-third of the real estate owned by that spouse.

If there is a will, in order to make such a claim, you must renounce any amounts or property left to you within six months of the will being probated. If there is a prenuptial agreement, were all of the assets disclosed in advance? These are situations that require the kind of experience and expertise we have at Bartenstein Law.

Determining Heirs

Modern DNA testing can help determine heirs in a probate matter, but different situations require different sorts of tests. There are also chain of custody rules that must be followed to make results admissible. Understanding the science behind the kinds of tests that can be run, and their evidentiary limitations can make the difference between success and failure in these situations.

We can make sure that heirs are properly identified by using these scientific methods in a way that Courts will accept them as legitimate and persuasive.

Estate and Trust Litigation Cases